Review of Exam (2009) by Gabriel K — 03 Jul 2014

For an independent UK film it's nice to see that it actually has brains, I've seen my fair share of native indie flicks and they all seem to be about mobsters. Seeing this and seeing the fact that it has a brain and something to say is a great sign.

If the film gets one thing right it is the atmosphere, right from the word go the film oozes atmosphere as it lists off the cast and shows them doing something before the film officially starts. its very interesting and for a film that takes place in a room on a very small, small budget it does fantastically to keep the viewer interested, although I think anybody would be interested in finding out what was going on in a film scenario like this.

What makes this work as well as it did is the crackling dialogue and the delivery of that dialogue. For me in the beginning, at least, everyone was saying what I was thinking or what I would do in that situation and its good from a film like this. The script seems like the kind of script that everyone went over multiple, multiple times to make sure there were no loose ends or holes in logic and it shows. Most of the time, any scenario that could be thought of as going against the rules that were set up at the start; don't and its because of something one of the characters said at the start, 'it's not what he said, it's what he didn't say'.

Another reason to be invested in anything thats going on are the diverse actors and that the characters aren't flat 2D vessels. For a rather lean hour and 40, these characters are given development and its all woven in very well with the story thats going on and it all feels very natural and it flows well. Another reason it flows well is because it's all in real time and when the timer starts thats pretty much how long the film has left before it finishes.

I watched the trailer a long time ago and all I remembered was a few things involving paper, I thought it'd be a kind of film where the characters would have to do horrible things to each other to see how far they'd go to get a job and I am thankful it didn't go that route because for the most part this film is grounded in reality and adds to the films identity and not just another derivative horror movie.

For as much as it does try, it's not perfect. With a film laid out like this one is, you're almost always going to disappointed with how it ends, as it won't end the way you want it to. I don't think the ending is awful but it does raise a lot of questions, as do quite a few scenarios in the film. Quite a lot seems to be left up the excuse of 'well the Invigilator just allowed it to happen'. It would appear at first glance that some things that happen that go against some other things that were addressed earlier on in the film, but reading things online everything seems to fit.

Taking it for what it is though and not going super unnecessarily deep with it, it's an inventive indie UK thriller that has a smart edge, good characters, great dialogue and a good overall theme. I very much enjoyed it and would watch it again and see if there's anything hidden in there for a second viewing and even if there isn't it'll be good to see it again after seeing it once.