Pretty Good

Absolutely Brilliant!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

If you have ever felt stressed about an exam, then you will soon come into play with "Exam" and sense your body shivering from spontaneous anxiety. The whole film resembles a riddle which demands an answer, so the audience could participate in the way of every respectable mystery-film. But here, the newcomer Stuart Hazeldine turns out to create something which will literally put the audience inside a bizarre multicoloured lighted examination room. So, let's pick up the pens and answer the impossible; solve the riddle without breaking the strict rules. The participation in this film is like a video game or a live Skype job interview if you prefer. The creator of this film achieved an utter interaction between the screenplay and the audience which renders this film actually entertaining in a matter of fact. It is a tendency now that every movie shot in one place, especially in a room, become highly appreciated. "Exam" offers a live angst on solving the unsolvable among a bunch of stereotypical characters each one with a role to play and decisions to take. Hazeldine distributes clues throughout the movie and even his excellent close and personal frames betray a diligent job. As for the cast of the unknown actors ordered to capture a team of unique, intelligent and cliched people fighting and showing off for a place next to the God of opportunities, I believe they hit the nail on the head with sincere performances. The agony of the countdown shadows flaws and plotholes and further enriches the suspense of the easily predicted future uncomfortable escalations. Inside a room with specific rules and a motive of surviving of the fittest, people, despite how different their origins or culture or intelligence is, they have no differences; Thus, the way they strive for gaining the power to outweigh the others by automatically activating their inner competitive nature, seems extremely intriguing. Besides the hints about colossal medical enterprises and the bioethical questions deriving from there, "Exam" has another less obvious message about an individual's behaviour under special circumstances opening a philosophical and psychological dialogue at the same time. Overall, the proper mystery atmosphere and a respectful befuddlement plot are enough to like the movie, but the revealing of the multiple hidden implications is enough to praise a fresh artist

The first 8 minutes tell you everything that you need to know..but you don't know everything that you have been told until the credits roll.The film presents many questions, EXAMines them, and answers a few of them such that I was almost satisfied.Firstly, the film is intended to be racist, not only with the naming of the characters, but with each character's actions reflecting actions that might be expected of their race/gender. Guess which one will choose to use fisticuffs, torture, guns, sympathy, deceit, etc. It is intended to show the futility of the 'personalities' that are attributed to each race trying to work together in a zero-sum contest. Many people seem to miss that the rather human and intelligent characters are also caricatures because it is subtly done, though the movie hits you over the head with the nicknames.It kept me guessing through the film (and afterwards) who will be the winner? who is a plant? who is in charge? What do the designers of the EXAM want to happen here? When the CEO is revealed, which one will it be, or might it be the invigilator or the guard? One of the best questions is: for a corporation of limitless technology, what illusions are they purposefully creating in the EXAM room and why?Also, who is the corporation...really? what type of product do they have now? are they really this ruthless for their hiring? Are they a benevolent corporation (if there can be such a thing), or are they a cruel, profit-centric monster? They are so powerful that they are a nation-state, what does that mean?Did you listen to the words at the beginning of the EXAM? They rules are twisted like a lawyer would enjoy but each rule-breaker clearly breaks them and if asked would agree that they did! Did you hear that the laws of the outside world don't apply? What part of the outside world's norms will the characters maintain, and then do these norms help or hurt them with the EXAM?By the end, the writers have been able to squeeze every ounce of meaning from the words and events of those first 8 minutes.This would make a stunningly good live production. I love it, it's twisty and mostly unpredictable and left me constantly questioning: why was this thing that way?

I began watching this movie with high expectations as I love these kind of movies with few actors in a closed locations .. The beginning was promising and fast and up to the point .. No time was wasted in preparing for the story .. But as the story proceeded things got screwed .. The development of the events was not interesting at all .. I got bored of the story so quickly ..The way they were trying to discover the nature of the question and the way they tried to disqualify each others were ridiculous and boring .. And the actors were so bad that I couldn't understand where they stood from what is happening .. The way they reacted for extreme things such as the act of homicide was shallow as if they were a group of killers not ordinary people in an interview for a job!! And right before the end of the movie when you think that it can't get worse I was surprised with what considered to be the twist at the end .. Not because of the twist itself of course, but because it made me hate every second I had wasted on watching this movie .. A silly twist that didn't add nothing at the end and demonstrated how miserable the movie was .. I don't recommend that movie at all for anyone, unless you want to know how a trivial story and modest actors can meet to make you hate a category of movies you used to love before ..

Remember when you were in fourth grade and your teacher told you the riddle about traveling to St. Ives? Imagine making an entire movie about that riddle.The point of this movie is that ten good actors can effectively illustrate the ignorance of contemporary consumers of psychological thrillers.The premise is that eight job applicants have made it through a rigorous sequence of screening processes and earned themselves the opportunity to sit for a test which will presumably determine whether or not they get employed as an assistant for the CEO of a pharmaceutical company.They have 80 minutes to complete the test.They are each given a sheet of paper with "Applicant __ " printed on it, and a set of simple, verbal instructions.The sheet of paper has no other writing on it.Things start off interesting, because the token white male (who naturally is an asshole and a hypocrite) figures out some interesting things about the instructions for the exam. Then things go down hill.The allegedly outstanding candidates quickly start to flip out because they don't know what the question to the test is.The characters, who have for some reason given themselves "code names", set about breaking things-- the viewer is supposed to regard this stupid behavior as a reasonable attempt at problem solving.One of the candidates breaks one of the rules by communicating with the guard by flipping him the bird. The candidate is not thrown out of the exam due to shoddy writing.Predictably, the candidates become paranoid and resort to violence.In the end, the viewer learns that the writer of this movie believes that impatience, rash behavior, following the group, whining, and not recognizing a trick question when you see it are all qualities which pharmaceutical companies desire in an employee.The acting was great, which made the movie engrossing and I would even say it was worth watching for that reason. The premise of the whole thing being a job interview however, required a level of suspension of disbelief which is likely only possible for people who do not know what it is like to work extremely hard to achieve something such as an outstanding test score or employment at a highly competitive job.