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| Spartan
Directed By: David
Mamet Plot
Summary - Review 1 - Review
2 - CURRENT REVIEWS
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| A "lone wolf" U.S. government secret agent, Scott(Kilmer), is assigned the task of rescuing the kidnapped daughter(Bell) of the president, only to discover along the way a larger, more sinister plot with origins within the White House itself... [TRAILERS] Returning to David Mamet's "Spartan," what continues to amaze me is the faith the film has in the audience. Viewing the video recently, I realized that the real plot of the film is never ONCE explained to us. It involves the President's daughter, yes, but we are never guided from point A to B to C to D. We are given the outlines of a map and provided a guide through its checkpoints, but are left to our own devices to sort out the specifics and the details.
And really, it's the same with all great movies.
Yes, "Citizen Kane" fits the predefined mold of a traditional story and progression. But similarly here, we are left in an ambiguous fog as to how to perceive this character and what to conlcude. Last year's "Lost In Translation" didn't force anything on us and, in its last goodbye, deliberately denied us a force-fed answer.
But still with "Spartan," something feels more alive than these cases - something more visceral and tangible. I think this has to do with the film's genre. Because it is a thriller and because it is an adventure, our senses are more alert and atuned. We're trying to predict what's coming next in this surprise-filled story, rather than just absorbing as in "Translation."
Getting beyond comparisons for a moment, "Spartan" is just a damn good work that keeps you guessing. It keeps you on your toes. It is invigorating and unpredictable. Best of all, it doesn't sell out when the truth finally emerges from the fog.
If you enjoy mysteries and suspense, it doesn't get much better than this. I realize you may never have heard of "Spartan." It's time to fix that right now. [original review published 4/13/04] I was the only soul in the theater at a recent Saturday afternoon screening, and I must tell you that I was appalled to know that “The Passion of the Christ” down the hall was nearly sold out. If you like action films, spy films, thrillers, assassination movies, conspiracy movies, twist endings or stories of covert operations, this may be the best movie of its kind since “Ronin” (1998). It is a movie made brilliant due to a style rather than its plot. Yes, the story is successful, but it is the unfolding of the events and writer/director David Mamet’s (“Heist”) determination to maintain this style until the bitter end, that keeps us enthralled by a story more intelligent than anything that came out in 2003. I am actually at a loss of what to disclose, because I went in knowing nothing. I knew the film was titled “Spartan,” and that the poster showed Val Kilmer holding a gun, and a blurry face. That was it; All I knew. Walking out of the movie, I grabbed my cell phone and called five different people to recommend the movie. I actually made a point of talking louder than I had to, since people were leaving other movies and I wanted them to hear my emphatic recommendation. Yes, I was THAT guy – making sure everyone heard what I thought. But I don’t care, I’ll continue to sing this movie’s praises for years to come. “Spartan” is a crime mystery of sorts, opening in the woods with a test of military personnel. Scott (Val Kilmer) is clearly some sort of an instructor, conducting the test, and two of the test’s participants obviously respect him and want to work with him. But as we start thinking this movie is going to be about the military or some covert operations, we are thrust into the world of surveillance and the secret service. Apparently the President’s daughter has gone missing, and few clues remain as to her whereabouts. Scott is thrust into the position of finding information at any cost, but just before the movie reaches the expected climax, Mamet shatters every one of our expectations. The movie stalls, stops, changes gears, and peels rubber in a completely different direction. It is not so much a twist as it is a complete reinvention of the film, hopping tracks mid-trip. I have already disclosed too much, but I hope I have piqued your interest. “Spartan” is a movie about the mysterious Scott, exudes a constant sense of tension and urgency, and features an investigation that spirals more and more out of control with each new discovery. There is a complete lack of narrative structure in “Spartan” which is invigorating. Mamet is an accomplished playwright, and while his other movies are very successful films, “Spartan” truly feels like a minimalist theatrical production that has been committed to film by an equally skilled director. There are no conventions in this movie, nothing that tips the viewer off as to where the movie will head next. There are no speeches or interactions that establish place, time or motivation. There are no traditional characters. There is no use of a traditional story structure. Where most movies would introduce us to characters, lay out the situation, and cut back and forth between the heroes and the enemies, Mamet denies us the routine. All we know is what Scott knows, and all we learn is what Scott learns. The result is a film that is among the most unpredictable I have seen. There are twists and turns that we only realize after the fact, and a constant sensation of a master storyteller more intelligent than us, whom we trust to deliver in the end. When the ending trumps even our heightened expectations, we want to watch it again right there and then. Mamet is known for his vintage exchanges of dialogue, reflecting a vocal style and flow that is found only in his work. Mamet characters always have something interesting to say, and are more alive because they only say what people like them would really say. Words are often sparse, but when they come they reflect a strange form of poetic grittiness. How many movies sacrifice a character’s credibility for the sake of the plot? In Mamet movies, the plot only moves at the behest of what the characters say. What’s surprising in “Spartan” is how little is said, and how sparing Mamet is with his dialogue. These characters, given who they are and what the do, would not say that much and, as such, are pensive and quiet. He trusts the audience to learn the ropes, and so we do. And he gives us such beautiful images of their silence and their discoveries that their perspective of the world slowly becomes our own. If I have a failing as a critic, it is that I sometimes over empathize with a movie’s characters, at the expense of a story’s plausibility or its visual style. It is no surprise then that this movie, which clings claustrophobically to one character and exists solely within his story, had me leaning forward near the end, scoffing out loud at the surprises that caught me unaware, never wanting this little jigsaw puzzle to reach its edges. Then again, I may have been more inclined to scoff out loud since I was alone at a movie no one else knew to see. In a weekend where “Dawn of the Dead” won the box office, the best movie out there was being seen by no one.  Check out Reviews, Commentary, and More at Zertinet.com |
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