I love this movie. I've poured over every frame to see exactly what happens when, but there are two things that totally confuse me:
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!
First Puzzle: When Joe signs the paper to apply for the Club, the top clearly says "Club Membership Decree." How, then, did that paper have Spanish writing on it later? The way most of these cons work is that the people use their hands to hide what the victim is signing. But we can definitely see the English on the top of the paper. So how did the Spanish paper get signed?
Second Puzzle: When did the book containing the process actually get switched? Once again, in a real con, there would be some sort of stumble or moment when the book would be switched. But from the moment Joe shows the book to the FBI man, the red book is in each frame or in Joe's sight. So when exactly did the swap happen?
I ask these questions because Mamet was really careful to follow all the rules of a con in House of Games, but breaks them here. Or am I wrong?
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!
First Puzzle: When Joe signs the paper to apply for the Club, the top clearly says "Club Membership Decree." How, then, did that paper have Spanish writing on it later? The way most of these cons work is that the people use their hands to hide what the victim is signing. But we can definitely see the English on the top of the paper. So how did the Spanish paper get signed?
Second Puzzle: When did the book containing the process actually get switched? Once again, in a real con, there would be some sort of stumble or moment when the book would be switched. But from the moment Joe shows the book to the FBI man, the red book is in each frame or in Joe's sight. So when exactly did the swap happen?
I ask these questions because Mamet was really careful to follow all the rules of a con in House of Games, but breaks them here. Or am I wrong?