The Method (2005) User Reviews

Good script, actors and suspense

[reeagbo · 7/10 · 2 October 2005]

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.

intriguing one-set drama

[Buddy-51 · 7/10 · 17 November 2007]

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.

A sadistic analysis of the contemporary business world.

[incitatus-org · 8/10 · 26 September 2006]

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.

Perfect psychologically intense examination of the job application process

[Disk-Breaker · 7 August 2006]

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!

A Brief View of the Contemporary Wild Capitalism

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 5 March 2008]

On a troubled day in Madrid, with strike and protest against the World Bank and the IMF on the streets, seven candidates are put together in a meeting room in front of notebooks by a secretary as part of a selection process for one important position in a Spanish corporation. They fulfill another application form informing that they would be submitted to the Grönholm Test. While speculating about the possible existence of hidden cameras and microphones, the test begins and they read a message on the screen telling that one of them is not a candidate but an employee from the HR analyzing their attitudes. Along the day, the group is submitted to tests that eliminate each candidate until the final dispute between the two last ones.

"El Método" is a very well acted movie shot basically in one set like in "Twelve Angry Men" with a brief view of the contemporary wild capitalism through the dispute of qualified applicants to a direction position in a corporation. My only remark against the screenplay is relative to the unnecessary and quite stupid sex scene in the restroom. The author could have built the tension between the characters without the need of exposing them to a ridiculous situation that gives no credibility to the plot. The open end with an ambiguous conclusion is a plus in the story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Que Você Faria?" ("What Would You Do?")

Gripping, exciting, thought provoking, and all around brilliant!

[Potty-Man · 10/10 · 10 July 2006]

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.

Excellent movie

[demonskull-1 · 6/10 · 17 December 2005]

This movie tells us about a group of people that are gathered at the premises of a company in order to take part in a selection process for an executive job. Soon they will realise that they're not attending a conventional group-interview.

One of the assets of this movie is the cast, with a bunch of the best actors and actresses of the moment in Spain and Argentina. They had a good movie to show their talents, and they have done it. Particularly surprising was the acting of Eduard Fernández. Although with a good acting record, he was a complete unknown to me. However, his incarnation of the disgusting 'macho ibérico' was extremely realistic and natural. Ernesto Alterio shows us once more that he's able to convincingly play any role. One just have to compare his Antonio in 'Días de Fútbol' (Football Days) with the nervous Enrique of this movie. Outstanding, I think. On the other hand, I dislike Noriega and Verbeke.

The movie as a whole is developed coherently and in a dynamic line, it will catch your interest from the beginning. Only two negative points, however. Although I'm not a puritan at all, I think that the sex scenes were unnecessary. I also disliked the final sight of the street, I think it was completely exaggerated, but that's just a detail.

the best Spanish-Argentinian cinema ever

[zorglub3 · 10/10 · 2 January 2006]

El method is probably the best movie of the 2005.With a exceptional script and great actors. This movie represents the human feelings of group of candidates who want to get a job.It's a psychological movie. The director mix the best actors of Spain and Argentina to get a successful movie that you should watch!! The group of candidates represent all the stereotypes that you can find in a company!! this movie won't go to the Oscars because (obaba) another Spanish movie has a director with better reputation and for this reason the Spanish academy has decided to select (obaba)instead of the method But the method is a exceptional movie!!

Intelligent picture with an exciting battle of wits , including excellent acting and interesting issues

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 7 April 2014]

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 .

Casting is the scent of this movie.

[gatomorto2 · 8/10 · 3 October 2005]

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!!!

Getting a job isn't easy these days

[Jamesthejiveturkey · 7/10 · 9 March 2008]

"The Method" begins with a group of executive job candidates arriving at an office to interview for an open executive position. They are informed that the interview process will use an obscure interview method designed to have the best candidate for the job rise to the occasion. The candidates play a series of games and discuss hypothetical situations until they are eventually whittled down to the final candidate.

Director Marcelo Pineyro did an excellent job converting "The Method" from play to film. The fact that the film takes place mostly in one room makes it an intrinsically difficult shoot to begin with. Instead of it being a problem due to a lack of action the confining setting allows the audience to pay attention to the cast and get to know them.

A movie of this kind has to have a strong cast to be effective, and the makers of the movie were very successful in locating one. Eduardo Noriega, Eduard Fernandez, and Pablo Echarri all turn in strong performances on a very confining set.

In addition to the job candidates themselves the film is also critical of corporations and how they can encourage this culture of cold blooded behavior. The complete lack of concern by the job candidates and executives as they look down on rioting protesters at the front of the building also speaks volumes.

"The Method" is ultimately a study of how cold and calculating people can be to achieve their goals. It is a quality film with a strong cast that deserves to be seen.

The group interview

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 29 May 2007]

Somehow, all the job applicants we meet, as the film opens, seem eager to please until they start comparing notes; for some, this is a second interview. Since it's never clear for what position they are applying, one must assume it will be, at least, well paid. The five men and two women we meet turn out to be fierce competitors in a game where only one will get the prized employment.

In a way, one wonders who, in its right mind, would like to be subjected to such an intense and grueling process of elimination in order to have the privilege of working for this mysterious firm. After all, nothing is made clear. As they go through the paces, outside chaos reigns as people take to the streets to protest against a global conference now taking place in Madrid.

Enrique is the one that discovers what the game is like. He tells the others it seems to be the Granholm Method, in which aspiring employees must compete with one another until it's clear who will be the chosen person. Ana, who is an older woman, has her age against her. Julio, who was an executive that had to make a tough decision doesn't seem to have much chance at succeeding. Fernando, a sexist man, shows no mercy for anyone. Ricardo, who speaks loudly, but appears to be overly confident, doesn't seem to be a sincere contender, although he questions everything. Only Carlos and Nieves, who knew one another before, show the intelligence for being the logical choice.

Marcelo Pineyro, a director we have admired before, shows great restraint in the way he shows the material on the screen. In fact, this film has a theatrical feeling, which can't hide this is a work that was created for the stage by Jordi Galceras, and brilliantly adapted by Mateo Gil.

"El Metodo" shows an excellent cast of young Spanish actors that interact well with one another. Eduardo Noriega and Najwa Nimri are seen as Carlos and Nieves. Both give controlled performances. Mysterious Pablo Echarri, also impresses. Eduard Fernandez, Carmelo Gomez, Adriana Ozores, Ernesto Alterio and Natalia Verbeke complete the cast on this interesting film.

Kinda boring

[verrucktcarlos · 6/10 · 7 February 2020]

This movie is well directed and acted. I just think that its story it's not interesting enough to make up for its fairly long run time.

This movie is almost as long as ''Buried'', just to name a movie. I name that one because it all happens in one place (like this one) with just one person, the entire movie, and it manages to deliver until the end. But this one I feel should have been a short film. Characters, premise, and dialogues are not interesting nor gripping enough for a 2 hour movie.

Excellent premise marred by lazy characterization

[krigler · 5/10 · 26 February 2010]

The absurdity and grotesque one-upmanship of an executive job interview is sometimes perfectly captured in El Metodo, with an anti-capitalist demonstration used as an invisible backdrop with subtle symbolism. Directing is handled with confidence, and there is some memorable acting, although towards the end the ugly head of melodramatic overacting rears, destroying the atmosphere.

Also demolishing is the flawed characterization. One huge problem of the basic concept is that people interviewing for a high level managerial position have very rarely got anything to lose. Failure only gets the applicants back to other well paid, plush jobs. Such is a case with these people too; apart from their dignity and self-respect, there is nothing much at stake. Bigger problem is that even those they could easily keep were it not for their conveniently convoluted behaviour. From the writer's perspective it's simply a matter of bad characterization choices and some silly plotting. The competing interviewees behave with enormous stupidity sometimes to conveniently fit the dramatic wishes of the storyteller. One of the protagonists, a woman is rendered a victim about halfway through the film, a weak character unable to resist the sexual advances of a fellow male participant. This completely stupid and unrealistic plot development alone almost makes everything that follows implausible and shallow. (I mean, who in the world has sex in his mind during a supposedly important job interview? Come on, even the most macho males can control their animal urges - if they can't, there's no way they get to an executive position.) It's a pity the filmmakers could not muster up more courage to let the situation play itself out without sensationalist, melodramatic actions and resort to such cheap moves. What started out very well and tense, derails because of increasingly melodramatic plot solutions from the midpoint on.

It's a pity also that apart from a nicely symbolic final image and some subtly added subtext the storytellers did not make more of the anti-capitalist protests apparently going on simultaneously. It's a device completely wasted.

All in all, a film worth watching once for some nice psychodrama elements, but ultimately a terribly missed opportunity. For a similar premise, but a much more thrilling story watch "The Killing Room".

Creating a document...

[jpschapira · 7/10 · 15 December 2008]

It's the thought of the situation. The thought of being there in the same situation as the characters of "The Method" is what makes it so damn interesting, and nerve-wracking, and good. The rest is soup, as some may say. There are no new tricks being attempted here, no important message to be delivered; in fact, when the movie gets serious about the situation of the world economy or when it drifts into love relationships between some characters, it losses its rhythm.

The juice is in the method of the title, the Gronholm Method; something companies apparently do select a person for a vacant working position. In a wide spaced room, we meet Julio (Carmelo Gómez), Ana (Adriana Ozores), Enrique (Ernesto Alterio), Ricardo (Pablo Echarri), Fernando (Eduard Fernández), Nieves (Najwa Nimri) and Carlos (Eduardo Noriega); seven individuals who are applying for the same position. Montse (Natalia Verbeke), a secretary, receives them kindly, but once they are inside that room, they're completely on their own.

And it becomes like a jungle, like the definition Darwin once expressed as 'natural selection', where the most apt will prevail. The humans that instantly turn into animals device their strategy and start playing the game. They follow instructions that are given by texts written in computers, but always wander off and end up talking about some deeper than company responsibilities: moral issues, survival issues, romantic and sexual issues and the economic situation that's always present.

To describe each of the characters separately has no point. I can merely say that Ernesto Alterio takes the biggest round of applause, as he expresses an initial enthusiasm with the strange situation that gradually turns into insecurity and desperation. Carmelo Gómez is also especially good in representing exactly the opposite. Echarri playing a wiseass is something we've seen a lot of times, and it does him no good because it's hard to believe anything he says; while Verbeke delivers a perfect secretary that shows an excess of sweetness so that it becomes impossible to trust her.

Three years after "Kamchatka", Marcelo Piñeyro's major achievement is the decision of taking the renowned play the movie's based on to the big screen. The people I know (including myself) watch more movies than plays (and I love plays), and "The Method" gives them and everyone the possibility of experiencing something that has to be experienced.

I wanted to see the play but never did. Piñeyro, with a necessary respect for silence (and the correct use of incidental music that comes from the secretary's office next to the room in which everything takes place), embraces the tension that the play represents and, by using ferocious close-ups and keeping his actors focused and under control, makes us feel we're there, watching these people closely.

And the play is play no more. It's a movie now, called "The Method", that doesn't transcend the merely theatrical, but provides us a timeless document that shows a powerful and shocking experience we can grab and watch any time we feel like it.

first rate dramatic- comedy

[jaybob · 9/10 · 3 October 2007]

The origins of this fine film go back further than the play it was adapted from.

It has elements of Agatha Christies TEN LITTLE INDIANS, & the MGM hit film from the 1950's EXECUTIVE SUITE.

This movie has an all star cast of Argentinian & Spanish actors, & they all are excellent, The production is also first rate, It is basically a one set film; however it is not stage bound. I do not recommend this for young persons as it is nearly all talking & no action.

It is for adult movie goers who enjoy watching movies.

Ratings ***1/2 (out of 4) 94 points (out of 100) IMDb 9 (out of 10

It's Okay I Suppose

[chrischanwasframed · 7/10 · 25 July 2022]

I was happy to watch it once. I have mixed feelings about this. It has a good premise, several business types have to compete for an elite corporate job, they have to do some games and all gradually get eliminated. I think that is a good enough premise for a movie. It also did surprise me a few times, which I like, but, my main problem with it is that I did not really like any of the characters. For a film like this to work, they need to be competing for something cool, in this it is just a elite corporate job, they never really explain what it is, I also have to like at least some of the characters, so I will then want to support them as they play the game. If I was going to do a film like this, then it might be better to make it something like several prisoners are playing a game and the winner gets freedom, then you make the hero someone who was falsely convicted of a crime, so you would have a good person who didn't really belong in prison being given a chance to escape, you could then have some of the other prisoners be really bad people who do not deserve freedom, the audience would want the hero to win and escape, that in my opinion would be taking this same general premise and making a much stronger and more compelling story. I really should be making movies. I'm not saying I'm Alfred Hitchcock, but I've got better ideas than most of the dummies currently working in Hollywood, and whatever they call Spanish Hollywood... El Hollywoodo. Anyway, it is an okay movie, but just okay, it could be a lot better if they made some of the changes I suggested.

Great film

[djnajh-1 · 9/10 · 19 June 2006]

I liked the movie because it is original. It plays in just one place and there are few movies which consider this option and make something enjoyable about it. El Método is that kind of movie that all employee or director of a company should put lights on in to see. And it makes us feel responsible to all, especially to those that we're looking for a job. The actors are excellent. It amazed me the Pablo Echarri's performance. Here, in Uruguay, there is a work (in theater) that refers to this movie. I didn't go to see it because it doesn't interest me (the theater), but I became happy when I have the possibility to enjoy something that was taken to the cinema from the theater; and it is as good as this movie. I consider important the existence of a relation that catch the capacity of the characters about interact in a single space, where we can feel a lot of emotions. I believe in the actor's avidity and the good acting of the tasks of each one in the development of the movie. To sum up, I recommend this film to all the audiences who are interested in to have fun analyzing the situations and think over about the rules of the "new economic era".

Expected for more...

[Irivia · 6/10 · 19 May 2013]

Before i saw this movie,i thought it will be a great movie because i saw the rating on IMDb and some reviews and it appeared to b a excellent movie,but it to me, just was good. The way the interview was made is awesome,i wish my all job's interview were like that.You can show you intelligence and humanity, and how to work. The confidence is all when you have to work with group of people. The relationship between Nieves and Fernando,it seems that they already knew which other.

I just was expecting an surprise end,more competition more intelligence.The end was poor for me.

puritanism

[calneto · 10/10 · 29 October 2008]

I was actually surprised to read that some people thought the bathroom scenes were unnecessary. I beg to disagree.

There are a few levels to those scenes.

It implies that the Macho Iberico and la Santa Zorra also knew each other. It was not simply sex between strangers. Who knows, maybe Fernando had something to do with Nieves not returning Carlos calls. It is also a good contrast when he says that the bathroom is the only place where they can be themselves. Of course, that was before we learn that cameras are everywhere.

It is also the key to the game played between Nieves and Carlos during the ball game.

So, it was not irrelevant at all.

Natural selection

[vogonify · 7/10 · 17 January 2011]

There is something about films set more or less in a single room. There is nothing to distract from the subjects and when well done, the characters just grow on you. As part of my mission to learn Spanish, I've been poring over language books, newspapers and movies. The last of the lot is the most fun of all. El Método was a delightful surprise. A group of people face an unconventional selection process for a job. A mysterious "receptionist" lays some ground rules and it is very likely that all of them are being watched. At once a brilliant study of psychology and a edge-of-the-seat thriller, El Método is intelligent and, well, methodical. Having been disappointed with the psychological-thriller variety after Shutter Island and Black Swan, I am glad to have seen this.

Absolutely great

[wondernat · 8/10 · 19 July 2006]

This is a smart movie, filled with interesting and often hilarious dialogue. Every piece of the movie comes together in a very intelligent way. The "obvious" social commentaries are very subtle, and not "in your face," as other ambitious but disastrous films focused on the corporate world can often be. Noriega's my favorite Spanish actor, and he consistently lives up to my expectations.

The movie is set in corporate conference room for a group job interview. The hilarity begins right away with Natalia Verbeke's irresistible charisma. The focus of the movie centers around the one personality that is required to succeed in the corporate realm. It's interesting to analyze each personality of the candidates, and understand why others were eliminated, while only one was selected.

Sounds like a tedious case study, but the director's style and the cast's brilliance is what makes this film unique and enjoyable.

Interesting premise but short-winded

[vostf · 3/10 · 30 September 2007]

The idea was nice: 7 people in one room and a kind of role-play game as a selection to get 1 much coveted position in a big corporation. How long can a movie benefit from a good premise and keep all aboard despite a slight shortage in the follow-up? Admittedly it is 10 minutes, 10 minutes that are sufficient for the audience to judge whether the movie delivers the goods or not (with regards to the level of expectations set beforehand).

El Método doesn't fall flat after 10 or 30 minutes, instead it gradually loses traction with each eliminated applicant. With the first applicant on the way out the movie already shows its inner weaknesses. Actually this character goes too fast from a pretty strong position in the group to the status of a victim. I'd say this means the script was quite a bit weak.

ONE SIMPLE GOOD IDEA IS FINE, BUT THE SIMPLER THE IDEA THE STRONGER THE SCRIPT AND DIRECTION NEED TO BE

When you watch the movie there's an inner mechanism of suspense (Next out?) leading you to expect more from the next elimination, so there's some kind of suspension of disbelief stretched until you no longer care for the outcome. The movie lost me as a good-willing viewer (i.e. not getting to think about what is wrong in it) with the luncheon intermezzo. Just before that, the second applicant was out, losing through a 'Nuclear after-world' role play which was good, not great but it was right to heat up the atmosphere. The lunch was certainly necessary to change gears, deviate, scatter and broaden the narration, yet it feels more like a lull. Lasts too long as a whole as well as in the inter-cut narrative between the various sub-groups. Script softness plus direction flaw. Stemming down from there the ending is not very interesting, you no longer care for one character or the other.

10 MINUTES DEAL?

So was the movie getting bad only halfway? No, actually the titles already say it all. They mean nothing, don't set up the narration, and worse of all the images chosen as a dressing for the opening credits represent exactly the kind of cliché a lazy director would chose. You've got vignettes of various characters waking up and on their ways to the building for the group job interview. What can be more devoid of creativity than a movie starting with a character waking up in the morning then having breakfast? Can you believe some useless split-screen makes this poor start even worse? On the other hand the alter-globalization demonstration context is a fine idea but it's not enforced to the full in the closed-space narration.

On the whole a movie that would have need re-writing and a better director. Bring in the true talents for a remake.

Definitely worth watching

[elif7335 · 10/10 · 26 June 2020]

An intriguing and thought-provoking storyline that makes you think "what would I do if I were them?" throughout the movie. Clever dialogues, some humor, a little sorrow, and great acting; especially by Najwa Nimri who interprets Nieves Martin in an exceptional way - a clever, successful, elegant woman who radiates an incredible sex appeal, and by Eduard Fernández who reflects the thoughts and emotions of Fernando admirably. Also successful directing that prevents the movie from getting boring due to being shot in a single set. Oh, how much I'd wish for Nieves to close that door...

Cynical Fun

[Absyrd · 8/10 · 9 November 2008]

The Method Before I begin my review, I think I should clear up that the "Gronholm Method" is an obscure method of interviewing someone for a job. It involves gathering up a number of candidates eligible for a position, but rather than openly interviewing them as a process of discovering their usefulness and weaknesses, there technically is no "interviewer". In the film, the candidates are placed in a room with six laptops (one for each contender to receive notes) and they are forced to psychologically analyze each other to discover a "winner". They are issued a series of challenges and hypothetical situations in which they are forced to pick out the weakest of their group. There is always the lingering plausibility that any one of these contestants can be the true interviewer, or perhaps there could be multiple interviewers? Maybe there is only one true contestant, or maybe they are all role-playing in a method to promote a staff member in the company? Any of these explanations are reasonable, because when we're discussing a method as cynical as the film's depiction, it's almost superficial to narrow it down to one solution.

I'm not entirely sure about the historical authenticity of the Gronholm Method, or if it even exists (a Google search sent me to the film's IMDb + Wikipedia page), but I can almost assure if the film were a multinational box-office success, small businesses would begin to experiment and possibly adapt the assumed fictional method. I personally wouldn't mind being an interviewee of such a system, for it allows me to challenge my intellectual abilities in an intense competition. As for the film itself, when its narrative followed the characters as they explored each other's limitations and the film analyzed their credulity and startling enthusiasm to such a sport, it was an intensely riveting experience. The characters were developed with careful and relentlessly strengthening three-dimensional traits, and the methods of interviewing grew more severe and brooding to reveal the true nature of man. The first 50 minutes of this film were pure exhilaration, a haunting psychological depiction of cat & mouse. To me it was almost a nostalgic resemblance of the superfluous anxiety found in 12 ANGRY MEN, as I'd never felt so absorbed by long-running dialogue since.

After several characters are eliminated from the process (I'm not about to explain who, why, or how), the film takes a break from its intense onslaught of psychosomatic progression. This veers the film off-course and unfortunately causes it to wane off a bit. Greed is replaced by hormones as one character randomly feels like having sex with one of the remaining interviewees. Although a bit absurd, it also fits the animalistic desperation the contestants must be feeling by this point. They've been stripped bare from social courtesy, and are now physically fighting one another, no longer caring for outer appearance. I'm not sure if it justifies going as far as it does, but it would've been totally implausible to remain as a restrained and gracious drama.

A romantic subplot also develops between two interviewees. They had once been lovers, but one betrayed the other, and neither had ever forgotten. They still longed to be together, but the hostile circumstances made it impossible for them. The subplot does reach startling poignancy at one point, but does the film ever get back on track? Does it ever re-enter its initial excitement? Unfortunately, the writer didn't trust his sardonic examination would make for a fully satisfying viewing. His decision to switch gears was more detrimental than refreshing, and that may be the only aspect of the film that inhibited greatness. It still makes for a relentlessly entertaining viewing, one that not only provokes thought, but questions human morality in a time of conflict. Cynical, but excellent.