Exam (2009 film)

Exam is a 2009 British psychological thriller film written by Simon Garrity and Stuart Hazeldine, directed by Hazeldine, and starring Colin Salmon, Chris Carey, Jimi Mistry, Luke Mably, Gemma Chan, Chukwudi Iwuji, John Lloyd Fillingham, Pollyanna McIntosh, Adar Beck and Nathalie Cox.

Exam
Theatrical poster
Directed byStuart Hazeldine
Produced by
Written by
  • Stuart Hazeldine
  • Simon Garrity
Starring
Music by
CinematographyTim Wooster
Edited byMark Talbot-Butler
Production
company
  • Bedlam Productions
  • Hazeldine Films
Distributed byIndependent[1]
Release date
  • June 2009 (2009-06) (EIFF)[2]
  • 8 January 2010 (2010-01-08) (United Kingdom)[3]
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$600,000[4]

Plot

In an alternate Britain, eight mandatory candidates dress for what appears to be an employment assessment exam. The group enter a room and sit at individual desks. Each desk has a paper printed with the word "candidate" and a number from one to eight. The Invigilator, a representative of the company, DATAPREV, explains that the exam is 80 minutes and consists of only one question, but there are three rules: The candidates must not talk to him or the armed guard at the door, must not spoil their paper, and may not leave the room. If they do, they will be disqualified. The Invigilator asks them if they have any questions, then leaves.

As the exam starts, it turns out that the papers are otherwise blank. Within minutes, a Chinese candidate is disqualified for spoiling her paper by writing on it. After her ejection, the seven remaining candidates realise it is permissible to talk to each other and collaborate. One candidate, "White," assigns nicknames to each candidate based on hair color and skin colour: Black, Blonde, Brown, Brunette, Dark, and Deaf for one candidate who does not speak or respond to the group.

In the hour that follows, the candidates use lights, bodily fluids, and fire sprinklers in attempts to reveal hidden text on their papers, to no avail. They speculate on the exam's purpose and the nature of the company whose identity is shrouded in mystery. Dark claims that the CEO is highly secretive and has not been seen since the IPO. It is gradually revealed that the company is responsible for a miracle drug designed to treat a condition afflicting a large part of the population due to a viral pandemic. In the chaos, White takes control of the group and engineers the disqualifications of Brunette and Deaf for spoiled papers.

White also begins taunting the others, saying he has figured out the question but will not tell them. In response, Black punches White in the face, knocking him unconscious, and ties him to a chair. As White passes out, he pleads for his medication, implying he has the virus, but some of them do not believe him. Brown then turns his attention to Dark, who demonstrates a lot of knowledge about the company's internal workings, and eventually tortures her into revealing that she works for the company. It is revealed that Black is a carrier of the disease. White then goes into convulsions, proving he has the disease. Dark pleads to the Invigilator for help and is disqualified.

Blonde retrieves the medication for White, which was stolen from him earlier by Brown, and uses it to revive him. The others release White and demand to know the question. White suggests that there is no question and the company will simply hire the last remaining candidate. Black steals the guard's gun, but it requires the guard's fingerprint to fire, giving White time to retrieve it. White forces Brown to leave the room at gunpoint, disqualifying him, then forces Blonde to leave; as she exits the room, Blonde turns off the voice-activated lights, allowing Black to attack White.

The lights come back on after Black is struck by a gunshot. Blonde hides in the hallway, still holding one foot inside the room. Before White can kill her, the exam timer runs to zero. White then addresses the Invigilator, sure of his success, but is disqualified. It is revealed that Deaf had earlier set the countdown clock forward by a few minutes. Blonde then remembers that Deaf had been using glasses and a piece of broken glass with an exam paper earlier. Taking the abandoned glasses, she finds the phrase "Question 1." on the exam paper in minuscule writing. Blonde realises that Question 1 refers to the only question asked of the group by the Invigilator at the beginning of the test ("Any questions?"). Blonde answers "No."

The Invigilator then enters and reveals that Deaf is actually the CEO of the company and a scientist whose research had found the virus cure, but also discovered a method of rapid cell regeneration capable of curing both the virus and "the gift of life" for millions of people. The bullet that hit Black contained this cure, reviving him. With the desperate need for the drug and a limited supply, the company needed an administrator capable of Good making tough decisions with an attention to detail while showing compassion, all traits that Blonde displayed during the exam. Blonde eagerly accepts the job.

Cast

Production

After seeing some of his friends' films fail due to studio interference, Stuart Hazeldine decided that he wanted full control over his feature debut.[5] The original story involved an exam at a school, but Stuart Hazeldine changed it to be a job interview. The ending is also Hazeldine's creation, as the original story didn't have one. Hazeldine wanted to separate the characters by race, culture, gender, and, especially, worldview.[6] The film's pandemic was influenced by contemporary fears of bird flu and distrust of pharmaceutical companies. Originally, the script had more science fiction elements, but Hazeldine stripped them out to keep the film grounded. About the twist ending, Hazeldine said he wanted the film to be about more than just the twist, and he tried to appeal to audiences who seek a story about human nature.[5]

Release

The film premiered in June 2009 as part of the Edinburgh Film Festival[2] and was then part of the Raindance Film Festival 2009.[7] It was released in UK cinemas on 8 January 2010.[3]

On 11 February 2010, IFC Films acquired the rights for the US release, where it was released as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.[8] The DVD and Blu-ray were released in the UK on 7 June 2010.[9] There was no theatrical release in the US, but IFC Films released the film via video on demand on 23 July 2010[10] and on DVD on 16 November 2010.[11]

On 4 September 2012, a stage adaptation of the film opened in Manchester.[12]

Reception

According to Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of 30 surveyed critics gave it positive reviews; the average rating is 5.6 out of 10.[13] Tim Robey of The Telegraph said that the film starts off well but loses its way.[14] Lael Loewenstein of Variety called it "a smartly conceived, tautly executed psychological thriller."[8] Philip French of The Guardian called the film clever and "ingeniously developed" but criticised the ending as disappointing.[15] Also writing in the Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave the film two out of five stars and said the film does not live up to its intriguing premise.[16] Awarding the film four out of five stars, Total Film compared the film to Cube and the work of Jean-Paul Sartre.[17] Becky Reed of Screen Geek compared it to 12 Angry Men and El Método (The Method), a 2005 Spanish film.[18]

Awards
  • Won the Independent Feature Award at Santa Barbara Film Fest.[8]
  • Won the Bronze Hitchcock at the Dinard British Film Festival[19]
  • Nominated for Best UK Feature at Raindance.[20]
  • Nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut.[9]
gollark: High compared to what?
gollark: Also, animal-friendly meat production is unlikely to beat non-animal-friendly meat production unless consumers in general actually care much about animal-friendliness, which they probably don't.
gollark: I am not a vegan because I like some non-vegan things.
gollark: One must be sure.
gollark: ++delete arguments about it

References
  1. "Exam". British Council. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  2. Macnab, Geoffrey (6 November 2009). "Exam gets UK deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment". Screen Daily. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  3. Barton, Steve (4 December 2009). "Official Quad One-Sheet: Exam". Dread Central. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  4. "Exclusive: Stuart Hazeldine Talks Exam, Paradise Lost, and Tripods". Dread Central. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  5. Chaplinsky, Joshua (16 November 2010). "Stuart Hazeldine: British Filmmaker, Hollywood Screenwriter". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  6. Bartlett, Becky (5 January 2010). "Stuart Hazeldine's Exam: No Bathroom Breaks Allowed". The Skinny. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  7. Walters, Ben (2 September 2009). "Raindance Film Festival Hopes to Take London by Storm". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  8. Loewenstein, Lael (16 February 2010). "Review: "Exam"". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  9. Moore, Debi (18 May 2010). "UK DVD and Blu-Ray Specs for Stuart Hazeldine's Exam". Dread Central. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  10. Miska, Brad (14 July 2010). "U.S. Trailer for IFC Films' 'Exam'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  11. Barton, Steve (14 July 2010). "Official One-Sheet and Trailer – IFC's Exam". Dread Central. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  12. Hepworth, Craig. "EXAM - New Stage Adaptation of Cult Psychological Brit Thriller". Broadway World. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  13. "Exam". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  14. Robey, Tim (7 January 2010). "Exam, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  15. French, Philip (9 January 2010). "Exam". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  16. Bradshaw, Peter (7 January 2010). "Exam". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  17. "Exam Review". Total Film. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  18. Reed, Becky (5 January 2010). "Exam". Screen Geek. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  19. Gain, Bruce (11 October 2010). "'Dagenham,' 'Treacle' share Dinard's Top Prize". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  20. "The 17th Raindance Film Festival Reveals Award Nominations". Screen Daily. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
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