brilliant actors, brilliant editing

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

To the backdrop of a massive protest against banks and large corporations, one of the latter tests 7 candidates to see which one will get the one open position. No one from Personnel shows up, instead, they get instructions, sometimes vague, through computer monitors, and this explores the group dynamics(which are not rigid throughout) of these very different, and all fully rounded, credible characters(not one of which is a scapegoat or only negative), as well as the nature of authority, social pressure, and the effect of capitalism on priorities and how far we're willing to go. It kind of plays out like watching one of those sick psychological experiments from the 60's. We are limited to these people and then the quirky, strange secretary(who really adds to this overall Kafkaesque feeling), and the setting is equally isolated(one could almost call it claustrophobic), with us not leaving the foreign, unfriendly environment of the office for the entire duration. The acting is excellent. Dialog is great. This is tense from start to finish, only increasing as it goes, and the pacing is incredible. Not only are you never bored, it only gets more gripping as it goes, and the ending is utterly spot-on, and perfect. There are some nice surprises along the way, if you can figure some things out from tendencies and the like(something I don't see anything wrong with, if it comes naturally, then it doesn't have to pull the carpet out from underneath the audience). There is a bit of moderate to strong language and a brief but rather direct sex scene, with female frontal nudity(possibly full, it's hard to tell) in this. I recommend this to fans of Spanish cinema and films driven by those they follow, and that go into human nature(including the ugly parts). 8/10

El Método In Madrid seven candidates report for a job interview as 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, one of the candidates refuses to continue to fill out seemingly identical paperwork again, & many of the others question the validity of the supposed Grönholm Method being implemented in the interview session to choose the best person for the job. As the day progresses each prospective candidate is assigned a computer terminal & at points each is given an individual message while other times the group as a whole is addressed. What develops is survival-method way of having each candidate determine whether or not a specific group member is a good fit by voting him or her out of the interview process. One by one, as each member gets voted out by the others what develops is a ruthless manipulation of corporate mind games based upon deception & psychology. At the end a brittle bond is formed between two final candidates who must compete for the new job. I have been watching a lot of Spanish Language lately & came across this 2005 release. It is a very sophisticated movie. I am surprised it has not be remade by a USA film company. This film is done with an ensemble case & takes place in one interview room (& chat/talk in the restrooms) It compares to 12 Angry men from Russia. (I think the job applicant plot is more interesting) "El Metodo" has an excellent cast of Spanish actors (mostly young) that interact well in the ensemble cast setting. Eduardo Noriega & Najwa Nimri are seen as Carlos & Nieves. Both give good performances. Mysterious Pablo Echarri is also solid. Eduard Fernandez, Carmelo Gomez, Adriana Ozores, Ernesto Alterio & Natalia Verbeke complete the cast in this sophisticated psychological film. this film originally a stage play by Jordi Galceras, & brilliantly adapted here by Mateo Gil. This film did not get rave review from many reviewers but I like it and found it a very strong film. Its not commercial or mainstream so it wont appeal to most of the film going public's taste. however I liked it. four stars

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?")

This is one of the movies that show you, that you don't need a big budget, many locations and really expensive special effects. This relies on the actors and the great story. But I won't get into that here!!Although this also could've been played in a theatre (and as you can read here at IMDb, it is based on a play), I think it's nice to see it on the big screen (or the "small" if you'll watch it at home)! This movie will get a limited release in America. Why I mention that? Because I'm sure, that it will be critically praised there and what will follow is an US Remake. So I'm telling you, watch this now and see the original!