Matt’s Flick Pick: ‘The Exam’

The Exam

‘The Exam’

Matt Merchant

It’s almost a guarantee that for every class you take there will be multiple exams. Whether they’re pass/fail or stand-alone, exams can determine much about how your semester will end. And at some point, you’ll also have to sit through an interview. For the eight characters in this movie, there is only one exam, one interview, and it’s the most thrilling exam question ever asked.

Unlike others films with big-name Hollywood actors, multiple exotic locations and huge special effects displays, this film has a total of 10 cast members and one set. Everything is nondescript on purpose: The character names are “White,” “Oriental,” “Brunette,” based solely on physical appearance, gender or ethnicity and the set is sterile, dimly lit indistinct.

As each character was escorted out for breaking the unwritten exam rules, I found myself questioning my own observant, movie-viewing savviness. I laughed at the sarcastic wit of one character while cringing at the rude comments of another. And it wasn’t until the very end, at the point of complete frustration at figuring out the whodunnit, that the question is answered.

Contact Matt Merchant at [email protected].