Review of Fermat's Room (2007) by Willem C — 23 Oct 2012

I saw this on IFC a few years ago, and it's my all-time favorite modern suspense film. Using brilliant people instead of middle-of-the-road teenagers played by thirty somethings seems a lot easier than it would be: write it one way, and the characters are too smart and the audience is left confused by the plot, while writing it the other way would result in the audience understanding the plot, but the characters seeming not as bright as they're supposed to be. Fermat's Room manages to maintain highly intelligent characters and keep the audience from getting confused.

The photography is beautiful. It has a modern flair, but is much more refined than typical American suspense/horror photography consisting only of shaky sweeps and unbalanced closeups. I love the vivid colors, and of course, the personal taste of the set designer. The acting was top notch: all of the characters were believable as the different types of mathematical geniuses: the young hotshot, the laid back natural genius, the over achieving young woman, and the man who earned it all through hard work and blood and sweat and tears.

The tale of revenge is an interesting one. I feel that the process of answering mathematical word problems in a minute or less in order to prevent the room from shrinking is much more interesting than the usual fare. The film doesn't have to be particularly violent (well, not to anything that isn't a bookshelf or piano!), but the danger is quite evident and you can't help but panic as the walls close in, especially in a particularly tense scene when the all-important PDA is dropped amidst the messy floor.

If you're looking for an interesting movie to keep you on the edge of your seat, Fermat's Room is definitely worth a try. You won't be disappointed. At the very least, you can enjoy the interesting word problems that test your logic.