The Method (2005)

Argentinean director Marcelo Pineyro builds THE METHOD around the hiring process of a mysterious company. After advertising a job opening the human resources department of a strange corporation interviews its applicants in the most unexpected ways setting the stage for much drama.System Requirements:Running Time: 115 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 660200315726 Manufacturer No: PALMDV3157 Product Description

And you thought your job interview was tough

Based on the play, "El Metodo Gronholm," "The Method" is an intelligent film that argues for the condemnation of morally-bankrupt multinational corporations. It's not so much the belief that corporations are evil and greedy that's in the spotlight here. Rather, it's more the blind acceptance of people who, although blessed with free will, would allow themselves to be manipulated in egregious ways for what is essentially just a job. The phenomenon is no longer phenomenal. The medium of TV alone offers a surfeit of fame-seekers who would do anything, anything at all, to kick someone off an island, kick someone off a boardroom, kick someone off the planet (okay, maybe the planet thing was a bit much, but you get the point). It's all about the survival of the fittest.

Here at Madrid's Dekia Corp. seven candidates for an executive position are ensconced in a locked room. The idea for these clueless seven is to participate in a series of tests, known as The Gronholm Method, designed specifically as an assessment and elimination process. A sort of inhuman tool for Human Resources, the unorthodox method seems something a bored, misanthropic psychologist has thought up. Not your tame Myers-Briggs psychological typing, it purports to weed out the weakest by incrementally doling out progressively intense scenarios that will bring out either the best or the worst in each. Not surprisingly, its very nature causes extreme paranoia and subversive reactions toward one another. The whole setup is sinister and no one can be trusted; one could even be a mole for the company, planted to observe the candidates as they destroy one another, decency and honesty be damned. The trickery and manipulation don't culminate in blows, but the end result is even more painful. Here, the body isn't harmed but the soul is up for grabs. Ultimately, it's a shallow victory for one that begs the question: Who has conned whom?

It is said that ambition is like love; it is impatient of delays and rivals. No delays here--everyone's ambitions make quick work of their rivals. With hardly any action and shot mostly in one room, "The Method" succeeds unexpectedly through the disciplined direction of Marcelo Pineyro, best known in the US for his Argentine film, "The Official Story." Pineyro keeps the plot moving, ratcheting up the suspense with sharp dialogues that are small mind games of their own. There's a sense of foreboding at all times, a sort of gamesmanship afoot and the actors are uniformly excellent in depicting the hunger that seethes beneath the power suits.

More importantly, the story dares one to think. Outside on the streets, throngs of people are demonstrating against the harms done by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. On Dekia's 5th floor, our characters are playing parlor games in pursuit of a job. Which of these is a life of substance? Should you find yourself in a job interview that approximates anything close to The Method, here's a friendly piece of advice: run fast, run far.

(Language: Spanish with English subtitles) June 14, 2008

"Twelve Angry Men" meets "And Then There Were None"

A group of job applicants gather in a board room for a group job interview that only one of them will pass. Soon they realize that an interviewer is not going to appear and that it is up to them to "select" the successful applicant (and eliminate each other one by one in the process) through a series of unusual tasks that are sent to them via computer. Rather than testing for teamwork and participation, as most group job interviews do, these tasks seem designed to set the applicants against each other and identify the most aggressive and devious of the group, with interesting results.

The set up is very similar to that of "Twelve Angry Men". Both films started life as plays and as a result, both centre on a group of people sitting in a room talking. If you think about "The Method" for more than a few seconds, you can clearly see its stage origins, yet as with "Twelve Angry Men", it doesn't really matter all that much. The discussions between the characters and the dynamics of the group are of so much interest that it doesn't matter that there is virtually no movement. This film also reminded me of "And Then There Were None", in that there is a group of people (seven in this case) who are progressively eliminated and it is fun to guess who will be the next to go and who will remain at the end. Although there are no deaths in this film, I found it just as suspenseful as many horror movies that I have seen, if not more so.

This is an excellent film and one that definitely stays with you. I saw this film two nights ago and find myself still wondering how I would perform in the tasks that these characters are set. In a way this film frightens, me as it is such an accurate depiction of how the world really works. I highly recommend this film as preparation for anyone who has to do a job interview in the near future.
April 14, 2008

Solid well acted film

"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 protestors 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.
March 10, 2008

intriguing one-set drama

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.


November 18, 2007

Fasten your Seatbelts!

A smart, intriguing film that has you constantly asking, what will happen next? This is by far the best Spanish movie I have ever watched. The characters develop quickly before your eyes as they dialogue before the next and final phase of their interview process.
The first surprise of the movie, is that the applicants are placed in the role of interviewer, they will be eliminating their competition and in the process selecting the companies new employee but they must do this in a manner that makes they look like the best choice. Then they learn that one of them is actually an employee of the company sent to observe them.
They must eliminate this person, but who is it?
As a Manager in a Fortune 100 company, I was shocked to learn that I had somehow missed the usage of the Gronholm Method, as I watched, I saw it was a twist to the stress interview. A format used to put the candidate in the most stressful circumstances possible and see if they can withstand the pressure. We later find out that the Human Resources people made up the term to intimidate the candidates.
The psychological potholes these people must navigate are varied yet slowly reveal their true motivations and character flaws to those with whom they are competing.
In the midst of watching each candidate create ways to make another competitor look bad, there are funny twists amidst the fracas.
It definitely had the "Wow Factor", holding true to the basic character of corporate backstabbing, this movie shows that one often sells their soul for a nice title and a healthy salary. At the end of the day, we wonder is it worth the cost?
This movie is a must see for those who like psychological dramas and a well-developed plot line.
A good movie to show teenagers, to prepare them on what they should expect in the "working" world. October 4, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...