Review of Exam (2009) by Chriss M — 24 Jun 2010

The Exam seems like one of those movies that I'm just destined to enjoy. Low budget, character driven, logic based; a no brainer really, how could it possibly go wrong? Well, add a terrible bunch of actors, shallow characters, sci-fi undertones, a not-so-shocking 'shocking' twist and an inability to outwit the viewer and there you have it: The Exam.

The movie begins with a glimpse at the characters, without really giving anything away, then takes us to the exam room, which really sets the tone of the film: tacky. With a poor soundtrack and a sort of dark, minimalist set-up, the director desperately attempts to set a grim-dark tone, but instead only sets up a feeling that you're watching a low budget movie trying to seem high budget, very tacky indeed. So we carry on, learning that the few characters are here for a job interview, one in which there is some sort of puzzle element; it all gets very Apprentice-esque. However, even at this point, you still have hope! All the film needs to do is set up a good puzzle to keep the viewer guessing and good characters to keep the viewer entertained. But he doesn't. Any attempt to seem vaguely psychological or sociological, actually, any attempt to seem like the film has any depth at all comes off as cheap and pretentious.

The actors are remarkably over-bearing, completely overplaying their parts to such an extent that some performances are only describable as cringeworthy. Unfortunately the blame can't lay solely at the actors' feet, as the characters they're being asked to portray have the depth of a Twilight novel.

Really, the film is just a downhill ride, getting worse and worse as it struggles along. I mean most of the film has the characters attempting to shine light on a piece of paper, none of it seemed too smart to me, and just to add insult to injury, about half way through the ending of the movie becomes completely obvious. This isn't the only problem though: the movie gets to the preposterous stage, where suspension of disbelief seems impossible; and it is that which is the final nail in The Exam's coffin.

Unfortunately, in the end, The Exam comes off as a badly written version of the Spanish movie Fermat's Room. Although the director conceived a great premise, he simply lacked the ability or directorial might to manifest it into anything worth watching, instead leaving the viewer simply thinking about what could have been.