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Spartan - David Mamet movie

It seems unlikely that David Mamet, one of the most admired American playwrights of the past 30 years, will ever become a great filmmaker. But that may not be his ambition. On the evidence of his last few pictures -- the show-business satire "State and Main," the bluntly titled "Heist" and now "Spartan," which opens today nationwide -- Mr. Mamet appears to be more interested in professional mastery than in the production of masterpieces. For most of its running time "Spartan," a political thriller with the lonely, aching, slightly musty soul of a film noir, is a vigorous and engrossing genre exercise that manages the difficult trick of being both logically meticulous and genuinely surprising. Its elaborately implausible story gestures now and then toward an idea, but the movie`s main concern is technique.

Which is not such a bad thing. Given the current state of Hollywood thriller-making, which manufactures "surprise twists" by the gross and slaps them like garish party hats onto lackluster stories, the pleasures of "Spartan" should not be undervalued. The first two-thirds of the film, in which Val Kilmer hurtles down the dark corridors of a cleverly designed narrative labyrinth, should be assigned in film-school classes, if only to provide today`s hyperactive young sensation-mongers with a lesson or two in economy, clarity and the virtues of indirection.

It hardly seems accidental that professionalism has long been one of Mr. Mamet`s favorite subjects. Whatever else it may be, "Spartan," like "Heist" or "Lakeboat" or "Glengarry Glen Ross," is an examination of work, of what people (mostly men) do and how they talk when they`re on the job. The job in this case is the kind that might be listed in the classifieds under "Action Hero." Robert Scott (Mr. Kilmer) is first seen training recruits in whatever top-secret, ultralethal government agency it is he works for.

The tender, antagonistic bond between mentor and protégé -- the psychologically tense and physically dangerous process by which amateurs turn pro -- is an endlessly fascinating theme for Mr. Mamet. "Spartan" is constructed around two such relationships between Scott and younger agents: Curtis, played by Derek Luke ("Antwone Fisher"), and Jackie, played by Tia Texada. "Man to man, can you get me on that plane?" Jackie asks Scott at one point, a request conveyed and received without so much as a raised eyebrow.

What a man`s got to do -- even if the man happens to be a woman -- is rescue a girl. Late one night, Scott is summoned to Cambridge, Mass. The president`s daughter, Laura Newton (Kristen Bell), a Harvard student, has been kidnapped, apparently by an international sex-slave ring that preys on young blond women. Laura, a nationally adored redhead, had recently dyed her hair, which may make "Spartan" something of a cautionary tale. (That her captors are ruthless Arabs also makes it either defiantly politically incorrect or hysterically racist -- or would, if it were not also so grimly silly.) Was her abduction a simple case of mistaken identity or the result of a complex political conspiracy? Or did it not happen at all?

As is so often the case with movies of this kind, those questions are much more intriguing than the answers, and in its last 40 minutes "Spartan" starts to seem as battered and fatigued as its hero. The ending, which is meant to bring us face to face with the evil of unscrupulous politicians and the rottenness of power, is ponderous rather than shocking. But this disappointment is mitigated, along the way, by Juan Ruiz-Anchia`s glowing blue-gray cinematography and by innumerable little touches of Mametude.

The dialogue, a barrage of on-the-job boilerplate hissed and barked into cellphones and wrist radios, bristles with carefully diagrammed wisecracks and spiky tough-guy koans. William H. Macy, a native speaker of Mametese, strides through a few scenes in near silence, but his presence certifies the movie as authentic Mamet product.

And Mr. Kilmer`s cool, watchful inscrutability turns out to be well suited to Mr. Mamet`s approach to language and acting. The stylized Mamet language is not meant to express a character`s thoughts or emotions, but to deflect attention from them. Mr. Kilmer speaks his jargon with the expected precision, but his face tells another story.

Like many other inhabitants of Mr. Mamet`s universe -- the con man in "House of Games," the salesmen in "Glengarry Glen Ross," the thieves in "Heist" -- Scott is something of an actor, quickly assuming new identities and states of feeling when the job requires it and sloughing them off when they no longer serve an immediate practical purpose. The theatricality of his work is captured in a brilliant set piece, during which Scott`s impersonation of a solitary armed robber is assisted by a silent backstage crew wielding fake blood and cue cards.

Scott`s crisis comes when the mask starts to slip, and when his own sense of right and wrong comes into conflict with his training. This is an old story and not, in this case, a terribly interesting one, since Mr. Mamet`s appeals to deep feeling tend to be trite and clumsy. Mr. Kilmer, in contrast, never lets his concentration slip, and his performance remains subtle and graceful, even as "Spartan" becomes obvious and crude. He was clearly the right man for the job, even if the job description never made much sense.


"Spartan" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has violent scenes and copious profanity. SPARTAN
Written and directed by David Mamet;
director of photography, Juan Ruiz-Anchia;
edited by Barbara Tulliver;
music by Mark Isham;
production designer, Gemma Jackson;
produced by Art Linson, Moshe Diamant, Elie Samaha and David Bergstein;
released by Warner Brothers Pictures.
Running time: 110 minutes.
This film is rated R.
WITH: Val Kilmer (Robert Scott), Derek Luke (Curtis), William H. Macy (Stoddard), Ed O`Neill (Burch), Kristen Bell (Laura Newton) and Tia Texada (Jackie).

David Mamet writes and directs the political thriller Spartan. Respected Secret Service agent Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is assigned to the kidnapping case of Laura Newton (Kristen Bell), the missing daughter of a high-ranking political figure. Scott is teamed up with rookie Curtis (Derek Luke). Aided by the FBI and the CIA, the team discovers a human trafficking operation that may lead to Laura`s kidnappers. Meanwhile, political operative Stoddard (William H. Macy) refuses to cooperate with the rescue mission. Scott and Curtis are forced to quit the investigation when the media reports Laura`s death. Believing her to be alive, Curtis is motivated to start up a dangerous unofficial investigation of his own. Spartan premiered at the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2004