The Method (2005 film)

The Method
The Method
	Film poster
Directed by	Marcelo Piñeyro
Screenplay by	Mateo Gil; Marcelo Piñeyro;
Based on	El mètode Grönholm; by Jordi Galceran
Produced by	Gerardo Herrero; Francisco Ramos;
Starring	Eduardo Noriega; Najwa Nimri; Eduard Fernández; Pablo Echarri; Ernesto Alterio; Natalia Verbeke; Adriana Ozores; Carmelo Gómez
Cinematography	Alfredo Mayo
Edited by	Iván Aledo
Distributed by	On Pictures (Spain)
Release dates	14 September 2005 (TIFF); 23 September 2005 (Spain); 16 March 2006 (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

Eduardo Noriega as Carlos, a young well prepared executive.
Najwa Nimri as Nieves, a young well prepared executive.
Eduard Fernández as Fernando, an older Spanish macho.
Pablo Echarri as Ricardo, a former Argentine unionist.
Ernesto Alterio as Enrique, interested in personnel selection methods.
Natalia Verbeke as Montse, the company secretary.
Adriana Ozores as Ana, a mature executive.
Carmelo Gómez as Julio, who valued his ethics over loyalty to the company.

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]

References

^ "´El método Grönholm´ da el salto al cine, pero retocado". El Periódico Extremadura. Prensa Ibérica. 13 September 2005.
^ ^a ^b Koehler, Robert (5 July 2007). "The Method". Variety.
^ 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.
^ "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.

External links

The Method at IMDb
Adriana Ozores

[1] "´El método Grönholm´ da el salto al cine, pero retocado". El Periódico Extremadura. Prensa Ibérica. 13 September 2005.

[koehler-2] 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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Works by Mateo Gil
Directed	Nobody Knows Anybody (1999) Blackthorn (2011) Realive (2016) The Laws of Thermodynamics (2018) The Minions of Midas (2020)
Written only	Tesis (1996) Open Your Eyes (1997) The Sea Inside (2004) The Method (2005) Agora (2009) Pedro Páramo (2024)