The Method (2005 film)

The Method
Film poster
Directed byMarcelo Piñeyro
Screenplay by
Based onEl mètode Grönholm
by Jordi Galceran
Produced by
StarringEduardo Noriega
Najwa Nimri
Eduard Fernández
Pablo Echarri
Ernesto Alterio
Natalia Verbeke
Adriana Ozores
Carmelo Gómez
CinematographyAlfredo Mayo
Edited byIván Aledo
Distributed byOn Pictures (Spain)
Release dates
  • 14 September 2005 (2005-09-14) (TIFF)
  • 23 September 2005 (2005-09-23) (Spain)
  • 16 March 2006 (2006-03-16) (Argentina)
Running time
115 minutes
Countries
  • Argentina
  • Spain
  • Italy
Languages
  • Spanish
  • English
  • French

The Method (Spanish: El método) is a 2005 thriller film directed by Marcelo Piñeyro and based on the 2003 play El mètode Grönholm by Jordi Galceran.

It stars Eduardo Noriega, Najwa Nimri, Eduard Fernández, Pablo Echarri, Ernesto Alterio, Natalia Verbeke, Adriana Ozores and Carmelo Gómez, as the only eight actors in the film.

Synopsis

After an introduction showing the AZCA area of Madrid during a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank with accompanying anti-globalization protests, the entire film happens within a corporate building (outdoor scenes shot by Torre Europa), mostly in a closed conference room.

The story tells of seven people that have been selected among several applicants for one final round to determine who will get an enviable, executive position for a mysterious corporation, Dekia. The seven applicants are submitted to a series of psychological tests - known as the "Grönholm Method" - that start eliminating the applicants one by one. It is warned at the beginning that one of the seven people is an employee of the corporation posing as an applicant to evaluate the others. As the applicants are discarded, the race for the position becomes more tense and sinister. The tests reveal the weakness of each of the characters and their attitudes to company work. In the end the "mole" will be revealed and only one of them will get the desired position.

Cast

Release

Distributed by On Pictures,[1][2] the film was released theatrically in Spain on 23 September 2005. Palm Pictures handled U.S. distribution.[2]

Awards

The film was nominated to five Goya Awards (Best Lead Actor (Fernández), Best New Actor (Echarri), Best Editing (Aledo), Best Screenplay (Gil and Piñeyro) and Best Supporting Actor (Gómez), winning in the last two categories. It also won in the Flanders International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Film in the Mar del Plata Film Festival. It also won the main award (The Audience Award) at Vilnius International Film Festival.

Footnotes

Similarities have been noted between this film and the 2009 film Exam.

Remake

In 2023, a Dominican remake of the same name was released, directed by David Maler, with an ensemble cast is made up of Nashla Bogaert, Héctor Aníbal, Georgina Duluc, Pepe Sierra, Yasser Michelén, Roger Wasserman and Dahiana Castro in her film acting debut.[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "´El método Grönholm´ da el salto al cine, pero retocado". El Periódico Extremadura. Prensa Ibérica. 13 September 2005.
  2. ^ a b Koehler, Robert (5 July 2007). "The Method". Variety.
  3. ^ Montero, Norberto (2023-09-18). "VIDEO | Película "El Método", producida por Sky Films y Cacique Films estará disponible en cines desde el jueves". RC Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  4. ^ "Dahiana Castro hace su debut en el cine local con la película "El Método"". Hoy Digital (in Spanish). 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2025-09-29.