FILM CHALLENGE: 136) Exam

136) Exam

Director: Stuart Hazeldine

Year: 2009

Plot Summary: Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, an Invigilator gives them eighty minutes to answer one simple question. He outlines three rules they must obey or be disqualified: don't talk to him or the armed guard by the door, don't spoil their papers and don't leave the room. He starts the clock and leaves. The candidates turn over their question papers, only to find they're completely blank. They have 80 minutes to find out the question and the answer.

British cinema seems to love claustrophobic thrillers at the moment. But, unfortunately, none of them so far have succeeded as anything more than simply a good concept. The Descent was one of the first of this genre; a harrowing, character driven ride that took us, quite literally, into the depths of fear, anxiety, paranoia and isolation, only to be ruined by the slasher-flick ending involving monsters and rivers of blood. This year year also produced The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, a movie that began riveting but became increasingly dull as the plot ran thinner and thinner.

So is Exam, a mystery story set entirely in one room, any different from the rest? Unlike the question in the movie, this answer doesn't take much intelligence, determination or time to figure out: It's a definite 'no'.

This is because, while the mystery of Exam is enough to keep you watching, you might as well just skip to the end to find out the answer. After all, almost everything leading up to the big reveal is entirely pointless as the characters simply come up with theories, then prove them wrong, then come up with more theories and prove those wrong too. For example, they wonder if they need to hold the paper to the light? They try it and it doesn't work. So they then debate whether setting the smoke alarm off and covering it in water would work then. This also doesn't work after they give it a go. It follows this structure and there's nothing revealed until the end to keep us intrigued, nothing hinted at to make us wonder, nothing that develops at all in order to sustain its 90 minute length. Therefore, Exam is a tedious and dull experience.

But it's not only the story that feels boring, it's the characters too. From the minute they enter the room to the closing credits, you learn nothing about them and their relationships with one another don't develop further than a slight locking of heads and some moments of compassion between one or two of them. As a result, you simply don't care who gets expelled from the room, who comes up with the answer or who lives or dies.

Aside from the characterisations, the writer should also be criticised for the predictable, obvious dialogue that you can see coming before it's even delivered by the poor actors.

It all sounds like an interesting concept on paper, but in its execution the film-makers are unable to make it work with the bad writing, terrible cast, and more flaws than Joan Rivers' face.

2/5

By Daniel Sarath with 3 comments