Il metodo

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.

From the moment all the main characters are gathered inside the conference room, you know you're in for a rare treat. The first part plays out like a classic, Agatha Christie-like whodunit, where you know just as much as the rest of the characters, and are as qualified as they are to make your assumptions.

The rest of the movie is just as interactive. The method of restricting our point of view to that of the character's makes you as much a part of what's going on as they are. It almost feels like a reality TV show, where you get to be one of the judges.

From the get-go, the movie grips you. It doesn't waste any moment and delves straight into the drama. The actors all do such an excellent job that you can't take your eyes off the screen. The pacing is perfect - here is not a dull moment - and the film's structure is brilliant.

There is one particular recurring motif which first appears in the first few scenes - dividing the screen into thirds. See if you can find similar compositional arrangements in key moments and deduce their meaning. It is the kind of movie where every tiny element serves a purpose (symbollic or otherwise), and it will make you think. Don't get me wrong - you will enjoy the movie as pure entertainment. But those who wish to search for deeper meanings, commentary about human nature, subtle social critique etc. will be far from disappointed.

In my opinion, the movie was perfect in every way (reminding me of "12 Angry Men", one of my all time favorites). I can't urge you enough to go see it. It is one of the best movies of the year.

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.

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.

If you want to see a movie with the best special effects,explosions, gunfigths and other exciting sequences, you are in the wrong lounge. But if you like movies with interesting argument, funny dialogs and very good performances, without any doubt, you'll enjoy with this movie. The first called my attention was the very high quality casting of this film,probably five of ten best actors of Spain are in this movie (Javier Bardem was busy in other productions). The actors are impressive, specially Eduard Fernandez and Pablo echarri. The argument is very curious and it will captivate you from the beginning.Finally the director do a good job giving the film the right rhythm. topnotch!!!