Corporate politics is something we're all aware of. People will do anything to get that killer job, even if it means tainting the identity of another candidate.

Based on the Spanish play of the same name, Marcelo Pineyro's The Method explores the human condition pitted against a series of tests designed to increase the tension between seven promising candidates vying for the same position within a multinational company. Entitled 'The Gronholm Method', the players are forced to think beyond convention to exploit the weaknesses of others, in turn creating an atmosphere of paranoia and insecurity.

At times, the film reaches points of predictability and relies on obvious hurdles to keep the viewer interested, drawing away from the crafted uniqueness of the film. In other regards, it also plays out as if it was a reality show, with voting, spies and the plot twists associated with ‘human zoo’ shows. The script also goes to lengths to ensure most of the demographic is covered within the room, which includes former lovers, the middle-aged and the insecure.

Providing contrast to the bourgeois-manner of the office space is the unseen riot escalating outside the high-rise building. Of course, the state of the protest is based around an issue that is caused by the big corporations. Its invisible unison with the rising temperature of the room's confines, while obvious, provides a great sound composition during the breaks between each test.

Most notable throughout the film is the absence of the corporate honchos searching for the perfect candidate. While it’s an obvious stab at the faceless nature of world-dominating companies, it conjures a theme of how blindsided people can be when blissfully ignorant of issues that affect more than just a profit.

In some respects, the narrative plays out with a theme akin to Spanish masterpiece, Luis Bunuel's The Exterminating Angel - a film that psychologically explores the differences between social classes (that is, with Bunuel's surrealism flair). This time, however, people are only trapped by their desires to reach the position of 'successful candidate', with the eliminated contestant free to leave the 'compound'.

While the ending left much to be desired, The Method does enough to keep you entertained over the two-hour journey. If you took out the intentionally elongated nature of reality TV, this is what you'd get.

Rating: 2.5 stars