La Méthode

A top-notch cast under superb direction by Marcelo Piñeyro makes this movie above average in every aspect . During IMF & World Bank Summit and demonstrations which upset Madrid, like other big cities , seven candidates report for a job interview . Protesters rise up in public protest in the street over the IMF-World Bank Summit attempting globalization of workers unions . As the group interview begins high above in a corporate meeting room where are the applicants for the difficult competition . Major corporation Dekia holds interviews a lot of applicants , these are the followings : Eduardo Noriega as Carlos , Najwa Nimri as Nieves , Eduard Fernández as Fernando , Pablo Echarri as Ricardo , Ernesto Alterio as Enrique , Carmelo Gómez as Julio and Adriana Ozores as Ana . Their doubts begin when they must sign a clause accepting the Grönholm method, which nobody ever heard . Attended by a secretary well played by the beautiful Natalia Verbeke , they become involved into twisted problems , complicated tests , verbal attacks and contra-attacks and many other things . There are some computers which show different messages to each of the roles , and when they are eliminated from the test , the computer gives out a "no signal" . It soon becomes clear the questions are dirty mind games, but never what is true and what the trick . They also have to guess who among them is the enterprise mole and must decide who the traitor is . When HR goes too far the events go awry .

This is a brooding film in which there is a psychologically intense studio to recruit a top executive from seven applicants . There are battles of wits among varied group of applicants as their priorities, ethics and loyalty are put trough stressing tests . It is a deep as well as engaging exam about the job application process . Though the whole movie is set in an office room it never lacks for taut , suspense , intrigue and inspired direction . The struggle behind closed doors , as they repeatedly eliminate one of their number from the procedure ; it results to be tense , charged and riveting . The picture has the best elements of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross , Neil LaBute's In the company of men and Sidney Lumet's 12 angry Men and ¨El Metodo¨ by Marcelo Piñeyro. Jordi Galceran's brilliant play was left virtually intact in its move to feature film . This famous play was splendidly directed by Marcelo Piñeyro with an extraordinary plethora of actors who give awesome performances . Because the painstaking rehearsals for the film lasted some exhausting weeks , filming had to be completed in an unprecedented time and shot in a few separate takes . The acting level of the cast during some of the intense discussions and debates almost bursts in the screen . The movie can be used in business schools and workshops to illustrate team dynamics and conflict resolution techniques . Very good acting by a Spanish all-star cast such as Eduard Fernández , Pablo Echarri , Ernesto Alterio , Carmelo Gómez , Adriana Ozores and Natalia Verbeke ; especial mention to Eduardo Noriega and Najwa Nimri .

Thought-provoking as well as interesting screenplay by Mateo Gil . Mateo is a notorious screenwriter , he wrote various films for Amenabar as ¨Agora¨ , ¨Mar Adentro¨ , ¨Abre Los Ojos¨ and ¨Tesis¨ . He has only directed ¨Nobody knows anybody¨ or ¨Nadie Conoce Nadie¨ and recently a Western titled ¨Blackthorn¨ . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Marcelo Piñeyro . He was born in 1953 in Buenos Aires, Argentina . Marcelo usually works with his fetish actor , Leonardo Sbaraglia . Piñeyro is a director and writer, especially known for Plata Quemada (2000) and Kamchatka (2002) and , of course , El Método or the Method (2005) . Marcelo has directed the following films -being most of them dramas and thrillers- : 2009 La Viudas de Jueves , 2003 Kamchatka , 2000 Plata Quemada or Burst money , 1997 Cenizas del Paraíso , 1995 Caballos Salvajes and 1993 Tango Feroz .

In the tradition of "No Exit" and "Twelve Angry Men," "The Method" gathers a small group of people into a single room to observe what happens when they are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time together, essentially cut off from the outside world. (The movie throws in elements from such wide-ranging and eclectic sources as "And Then There Were None," "1984," "To Tell the Truth" and "Survivor" as well).

Seven high-powered job applicants, all vying for a single position in a prestigious company, arrive at a high rise office building in downtown Madrid. As a part of the selection process, the seven are immediately put into a room and subjected to a battery of bizarre psychological tests designed to pit the applicants against one another until only one of them - the default "winner" and future employee - is left.

Predictably, the stress of the ordeal brings out the worst in the applicants, leading to personal betrayals, the exposing of secrets, and a cutthroat jockeying for power. Part of the fun of the movie is in seeing just how long it takes for the veneer of civilized behavior to be stripped away, exposing the ruthless animalistic nature within. For this is how the natural law of "survival of the fittest" is played out in the modern world - no longer with clubs, bows and arrows, but with duplicity, deviousness and carefully chosen words.

However, the individuals are not the only ones to come under the scathing censure of the filmmakers. The movie also attacks the Big Brother aspects of corporations in their insistence on total allegiance to the company in exchange for "job security" and their willingness to drain their employees of their humanity to secure that allegiance. Yet just outside this bleak, stark and sterile office building, where "civilized" people are subtlety tearing each other apart for corporate advancement, masses of people are marching in protest against the World Bank and the IMF who are holding a conference in the city.

Mateo Gil and Marcelo Pineyro have written a sharp, thoughtful screenplay that gets to the heart of the human condition, while, as a director, Pineyro manages to keep the action fluid despite the single-set restriction of the conceit (the film has been derived from the play by Jordi Calceran). The acting is uniformly excellent with each performer given his or her moment to shine as well as the chance to be an indispensable part of an extraordinary acting ensemble.

"The Method" may be derivative of other works at times, but the view of human nature it reveals to us is often unnerving and chilling in its honesty and precision.

Seven candidates show up at some multinational in Madrid, all of them in the last round of a recruitment process. While the city is immersed by anti-globalization protests on the streets down below, the candidates are turned on each other for the selection. A sadistic analysis of the contemporary business world, pushed just that little bit further to earn it the title of a satire.

The cruel game is played out in the confines of the office, with the candidates fending for themselves under the presumed watchful eye of the named, but anonymous, entity which is the corporation. The tension mounts quickly, as the strong characters clash head-on in their perfectly developed manipulative manners after their years in business life. An excellent cast plays clever but tough dialogues in scenes which are a little too close to reality for comfort. A clear message surfaces as the film comes to a close, leaving a sour aftertaste. Not an uplifting movie to watch, but ingeniously crafted. Bare in mind that you may want to lay in the sun after surviving this one.

This is one of the best films I've seen all year! If you've ever been to a job interview with multiple applicants or even to one of those assessment centres big companies have you will recognize a lot of things in this movie.

"The Method" starts off with an engaging split-screen title sequence reminiscent of the TV series 24 which introduces the characters and the events around them: The story takes place on the day of the annual IMF & World Bank meetings and a huge anti-globalization protest is mounting that is threatening to shut down the city. This however belies what will follow in the next two hours.

Seven applicants for an executive position at a large company are more or less locked up inside a room and put through a novel mysterious selection process called "The Grönholm Method" which is supposed to determine the one applicant who is most fit for the job. The limited setting of the movie works perfectly and allows the audience to concentrate on and engage with the characters and the clever dialogue. Adapted from a theatre play the script takes the characters through little insidious games aimed at eliminating one applicant after the other. The movie quickly gets into a state of heightened reality, amping up the tension as everything gets more and more psychologically violent. Without giving anything away all I can say is that there's no backing down, it gets pretty hardcore and you can expect quite a few twists! After a particularly intense round in The Grönholm Method the audience is suddenly assaulted by the sound of the violent riots going on in the streets below while the camera remains focused on the actors. This moment is pure Haneke and through the contrast of non-diegetic sound perfectly illustrates the violence behind the ruthless shoot-first-or-be-shot modern day job world.

Watching this movie carefully while giving it your full attention pays off since the plot twists are carefully build up and you can have a lot of fun and gratification in correctly predicting them. Also, if you're a cynical bastard like me, you will find a lot of laughs in the dialogue.

Highly recommended!

The script is based in in a theater play, and though I'm not familiar with the original, I guess the action probably remains close to the original (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

The cast is a good bunch of popular actors and actresses here in Spain, some of them somewhat popular out of Spain. See Eduardo Noriega, Carmelo Gómez, Ernesto Alterio and Natalia Verbeke. I find the acting very believable in general, maybe Noriega is not that real, but maybe this is what he is supposed to do in his role.

The story: Seven people are dated to have their final interview for an important position in a big company. All of them get together for the interview in the same place and the method used by the company for the final selection is call Gronholm method.

All the action takes place in the interview room and the restrooms. This, in spite of being drawback for the entertainment, makes it more interesting. The director gets rid of superfluous elements and leaves space for character development.

In opposition, and in order to prevent the public from getting lost in so much isolation, the director sets the action in the same day and place of a World Bank and IMF, although this doesn't really have an influence on the story.

My only complaint has to do with some restroom scenes that I believe don't add anything to the movie and look really silly to me.

Very entertaining and good story.