Review: Exam

     Episodes that take place all in one location, or “bottle” episodes, are frequently used in television to help save a few dollars in the production budget. This is especially true when shows like Lost and 24 spend most of their budget for the season on episodes full of explosions and other costly effects and then need to make up those costs in other episodes. However, movies that all take place in one location are harder to come by. Movies generally have bigger budgets and can afford to shoot in a number of locations but those that do choose to lock all their characters into a room for the duration of the movie generally benefit for it. Now, of course I'm not saying this is a law, but it makes sense, especially for movies on a tight budget. Without having to spend a lot of money shooting in a lot of locations or on big budget effects, movie that take place all in one room focus their efforts on what really matters: the plot and it's characters. Movies like 12 Angry Men and My Dinner with Andre have been lauded for their deep study of the characters involved, and I believe eliminating the distraction of things that can't happen in one location play a part in that. 

      Exam follows in the footsteps of previous “bottle” movie. It's an excellent study of human psychology under the most stressful circumstances. This 2009 movie was released solely in Britain, but is now finding a larger audience via an extended stay on Netflix Instant. Set in the not-so-distant future (or as the film puts it, “soon”), The film covers eight candidates for a mysterious position working at a mysterious corporation. We're told that the job is very prestigious and will change the life of whoever is chosen for the job. The eight candidates are led into a small, windowless room where they are given instructions for the final stage in the application process, the titular exam. The invigilator informs them that the only rules in the room during the exam are the company's: there is only one question and one answer, no communicating with the invigilator or the guard (present to enforce the rules), no spoiling your paper, no leaving the room, you have eighty minutes to answer the question. The violation of any of these rules means that the candidate is disqualified from consideration. Expecting to find the answers on the back of the paper before them, the front marked with their candidate number, the candidates are shocked to find that the paper is blank. The remainder of the movie is spent trying to crack the puzzle placed before them. The candidates try a number of ways to reveal the question on their pages, ultraviolet, infrared, and even attempting to use the room as a dark room. As the clock ticks down tensions get higher and higher as the candidates are slowly eliminated. Some begin to think that there isn't a question, or even a job at all and that the whole thing is some sort of psychology experiment or maybe some kind of sick way the company's executives like to gamble. Others suggest that the question is the exam itself and the candidates are the answers. It's a very tightly written plot that is acted out marvelously as we see the extremes of human emotion under pressure, and will leave you guessing until the end.

     I liked this film a lot, it has a very original premise and it is executed marvelously. It's as if someone took Saw, 12 Angry Men, Resevoir Dogs, and The Usual Suspects and mashed them all together and this is what came out. I was particularly impressed with the acting abilities of all ten of the relatively unknown actors in the movie. Each of them gives a very defined performance, each displaying slightly different types of highly driven personalities and how they would react in this stressful environment. I also enjoyed the way the film plays with the audiences relationships with the characters. We're never sure who to cheer for, just when we think one character has the moral high ground, they do something to throw our perception of them as the protagonist under the bus. 

     However, this film is far from perfect. Towards the end of the film a couple of the characters torture and even try to murder the other candidates, all in the pursuit of this job. It seems unrealistic that anyone would be pushed to this extreme as part of a job application, and even if they were, would any one still want to work for a company that pits people against each other like that? The film tries to deal with this by explaining that there is more at stake in attaining this job than just money and influence, but it fails to succeed in providing significant explanation for the character's most extreme behaviors. Also, the big reveal is awfully disappointing, mostly because the mystery behind the what the question is was so built up that I'm not sure any resolution to this question would have been satisfying, just like the series finale of Lost was disappointing. So much is built up around the mysteries of the story that no explanation can do it justice. However, the film is still very clever, well-acted, fast-paced and dramatic. I recommend you check it out if you haven't already. 

Rating: 6.5/10 - Moral