With Spenser Confidential now available globally via Netflix, we delve into the film’s central conspiracy and what that ending tease means for the future. The character of Spenser was first created by Robert B. Parker and debuted in the 1973 novel The Godwulf Manuscript, before returning for dozens more entries across the next few decades. After Parker passed away in 2010, a 41st Spenser installment, Silent Night, was completed by his literary agent Helen Brann. The ongoing saga was then more prominently continued by Pulitzer prize-winning crime reporter Ace Atkins, who, to date, has written eight well-received Spenser adventures.
Spenser Confidential isn’t the first time the novels have been adapted for the screen. Created by John Wilder, the Spenser: For Hire TV show ran for three seasons on ABC. The series starred Robert Urich and Avery Brooks, and the pair would reprise the roles in the early 90s, post-cancellation, for a number of TV movies. Airing on Lifetime, two of the movies were written by Parker himself. Between 1999 and 2001, three separate TV movies were made – starring Joe Mantegna, Marcia Gay Harden, and Ernie Hudson. The series then remained untouched until Netflix greenlit a new movie starring Mark Wahlberg as Spenser. The film also stars Alan Arkin, Winston Duke as his longtime associate Hawk, and even Post Malone making his acting debut.
Following an assault on his corrupt and abusive captain, Spenser is released from a five-year stint in prison. Despite being eager to leave Boston behind in favor of a new life and career in Arizona, Spenser finds his resolve tested when that same captain is murdered. With an old colleague is blamed for the crime and also turning up dead, Spenser is unable to resist investigating. That path rapidly puts Spenser and his friends in multiple crosshairs as he unravels a web of murder, drug trafficking, and police corruption. All of which lead directly to the Bostonian landmark known as Wonderland…
Spenser Confidential’s Wonderland Plot Explained
Not to be confused with the infamous, real-life Wonderland Murders, the inspirations for Spenser Confidential come largely from Atkins’ second book. Like the book, the film was also set to be called Wonderland before it underwent a name change. The move was a fitting one given that Spenser Confidential is largely its own beast – despite taking some cues from the books and TV show. One thing that does remain firmly intact, though, is the overall agenda of the criminals that Spenser finds himself up against. Wonderland references the amusement park that operated in Revere, Massachusetts from 1906 until 1911. The location was later turned into a greyhound racing track, until it too was closed in 2009. The venue has remained dormant ever since, despite a failed attempt to redevelop the area into a casino.
Emulating real life, Spenser Confidential adds a criminal spin on that venture. It’s ultimately revealed that Spenser’s former partner, Driscoll (Bokeem Woodbine), is the head of a cabal that includes a street gang known as the Trinitarios, a former member of the Irish mob, and a collection of corrupt police officers. With the Trinitarios serving as the dealers and enforcers, the criminal organization’s principal trade is a large scale drug trafficking and racketeering operation in and around Boston. With the proceeds funneled up, Driscoll and his associates utilize it to bribe officials in order to get permits and fund the construction of the casino – thus ensuring a stake in the endeavor and a seat at the table of an even larger criminal enterprise.
Spenser also discovers that his former colleague, Terrence Graham, was working with federal agents. Equally, it’s revealed that his corrupt captain, John Boylan, had turned informant. As a result, Boylan was brutally killed by Driscoll. Terrence was also similarly killed, though his death was made to look like a suicide after he was framed for murdering Boylan. Both acts were designed to cover their tracks regarding the drugs and the Wonderland agenda. Although the FBI was already aware of the situation, it was only when Spenser secured proof in an explosive confrontation at Wonderland itself that they could act.
Spenser Confidential 2’s Sequel Tease
With the case officially solved, the criminals brought to justice, and the innocent vindicated, Spenser met with Cissy (Iliza Shlesinger) while walking his dog Pearl. Locking hands, they strolled off to meet Hawk and Henry (Arkin) for lunch. Enjoying a meal together, the group enjoyed the moment of respite and lighthearted conversation. The relief proved short-lived, however, when a news report came on the television. Despite Henry’s calls for the channel to be changed to an ice hockey game, Spenser was engrossed in the broadcast. The reporter detailed a church fire that had occurred while Spenser had been in prison – and which had cost two firefighters their lives. Despite time having passed, the reporter revealed that a suspect in what had become an arson case was currently being arrested. Spenser immediately recognized them as Marty Foley, an old classmate from high school. With Marty pleading his innocence and begging for help on-screen, it’s clear from Spenser’s face that he will be jumping straight into a new case.
The plot sounds extremely similar to another of Atkins’ Spenser offerings: Slow Burn. The book served as Atkins’ fifth and the forty-fourth Spenser book overall. On the page, Spenser was recruited by Jack McGee. Believing that it was arson and that it’s not adequately being investigated, McGee tasked Spenser with finding the truth – bringing the latter into a game of wits with a serial killer. As with Wonderland and Spenser Confidential, there are already clear differences between page and screen. Regardless, the overarching plot, from the outset, looks to remain the same. It’s also clear that turning the film into a full-on franchise is very much intended – with a sequel more likely now that Spenser Confidential has remained consistently in Netflix’s new Top 10 rankings feature since its release.
What Spenser Confidential’s Ending Really Means
Another key moment of Spenser Confidential‘s ending scene was the family-like togetherness of Spenser, Cissy, Hawk, and Henry. Spenser spent the film’s runtime resolved to leave Boston and start anew. Despite that, the film ends with him content with the self-made family he has formed or otherwise reconnected with. Equally, after refusing to put a label on whether or not he could be described as a private investigator, the film’s closing moments implied that was indeed the path he was now set to walk. In essence, the final scene is a culmination of an origin story for Spenser. And after each of the characters present assisted him in the movie’s final act, it’s clear that each will have a part to play not just as a chosen family, but as official parts of Spenser’s new business.
Whether or not Spenser Confidential does spawn a sequel, the closing moments also served as a decent bookend for the film. After all, Spenser Confidential opened with the titular character seeking out justice for a crime that felt all-too personal. Over the course of the film, it became clearer just how much the unsolved murder of Gloria Weisnewski haunted Spenser and drove him to lash out at his captain. And when it was revealed that the culprit had connections to the Wonderland case, it only spurred him on more. Rather than just the victim of a supposed cold case, however, Spenser revealed a personal connection to Gloria and her family. It was that same kind of connection to Terrence Graham that led him to investigate his supposed suicide. And it was that kind of connection that had him immediately engrossed in Marty Foley’s plight. The final scene wasn’t just a set up for a Spenser Confidential sequel but also a final stamp on the kind of man that Spenser himself is.
