Redbelt (2008)

David Mamet writes and directs smart films. His essay, Why I Am No Longer A 'Brain-Dead Liberal', is very smart. It's like his political mindset over time followed the plotline of The Spanish Prisoner (1997): there is a foreground narrative, conventional and believable, but once Rebecca Pidgeon appears on the screen, a wider and sterner reality will be revealed.

She's the actress in his movies, and the companion of his heart who was midwife to his conservative epiphany. Again, it's not that what came before has to be contradicted -- appearances are all we have to go on; if deceiving, they can be re-resolved. You comprehend better what it is that you thought you thought..

Don't try to read conservatism into Mamet's new gem Redbelt. It's just a martial arts picture, even, or especially, in the sparring of the high-powered attorneys. Don't miss it.

(Metacritic rating: 69)