The Method

The Method **

Directed by Marcelo Piñeyro
Written by Mateo Gil, based on the play by Jordi Galceran

Starring:
Eduardo Noriega as Carlos
Najwa Nimri as Nieves
Eduard Fernández as Fernando
Pablo Echarri as Ricardo
Ernesto Alterio as Enrique
Natalia Verbeke as Montse
Adriana Ozores as Ana
Carmelo Gomez as Julio

115 Minutes(Not Rated-Language, Sex)
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I was intrigued more by the premise for 'The Method" than I was about anything else. I always like when they translate plays onto the big screen. I always like the long one scenes, the heavy dialogue, and a smaller ensemble. It worked for "Bug" and it certainly worked for "Closer," and I won't even go into "12 Angry Men," even though I was reminded of that film greatly as I watched this. Portions of it are fascinating-there are themes and discussions here that sociologists would go crazy for. But those fascinating segments end up being made dull, and an intriguing introduction lost me around the middle.

"The Method" takes seven people all wanting a job at this big company. They gather in a room for their interview where their computer screens announce that they will be selecting a winner from the group using the Gronholm Method. Not knowing anything about this method, the group looks to their computer screens for further knowledge. They learn that as a group they will undermit a series of tests and challenges to discover who the winner will be. The first test is to locate the mole within the group-somebody who actually works for the company and is not looking for a job. But that could be all false-maybe there isn't really a mole in the group. As the seven dwindles down one by one, secrets are revealed as are knowledge about all the group members. They may not all be what they seem to be. And as tension builds, back dropped by a political protest on the streets below, the mind games just increase.

The films best scenes are the ones where the group of huddled around their computer screens, debating on who to get rid of and who to keep. The challenges and tests range from deciding who would be one to get rid of if there wasn't enough room in a bomb shelter, to electing a team leader. These scenes are fascinating to watch, and the breakdown of human nature and purpose is spot-on. I really did enjoy these segments. And then in between every test and challenge there is a break for lunch or just to go to the bathroom, and it was these scenes that took me away. There is an extended segment in a bathroom involving a missing shirt and one of the candidates hitting on another. I really did think long and hard about the purpose of these scenes, and I could not find any. "The Method" is interesting when it gets involved in how people think and how people interact. it's the job interview from hell, sure, but some of it is really interesting. But by the end I was just plain bored and I wanted to find out the winner and leave. And there isn't really much of a surprise by the end-something that I predicted from the very start. I was disappointed by the film in the long run-and instead of being interesting with the occasional dull moment, it becomes dull with the occasional interesting moment.