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Movie:		9.0
Picture:		10.0
Sound:		10.0
Extras:		5.0
Score:		9.0

Director(s):	Luis Piedrahita • Rodrigo Sopeña
Writer(s):	Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopeña
Starring:	Alejo Sauras • Elena Ballesteros • Federico Luppi • Lluís Homar • Santi Millán
Genre:	Foreign • Thriller
Website:	http://www.fermatsroom.co.uk/
Release Date:	September 29, 2009
Rated:	NR

List Price:	DVD - $17.99
Amazon:

It's not often that math finds its way into the spotlight, but in the 2007 Spanish thriller Fermat's Room, it manages to prove itself worthy to all those liberal artsy folks who think numbers are boring.

Four brilliant and renowned strangers are brought together by the mysterious “Fermat,” who invites them to compete in a battle of the brains. Given pseudonyms in honor of famous mathematicians, they meet at the host's house, have dinner, and then the game begins. Fermat is called away to the hospital to see his comatose daughter (this may have been my one qualm with the entire movie; none of the guests think it fishy that this guy would throw a party while his daughter is in such poor condition). They're left with a PDA, which buzzes with a new puzzle every few minutes. Tensions run high, and the walls literally start closing in. They have sixty seconds to complete each riddle, and once those sixty seconds are up, hydraulic presses begin to push the four walls together and don't stop until the guests come up with the correct answer.

***Slight Spoilers Ahead***

Panic ensues. They frantically try to figure a way out of the room which, by their calculations (these are most likely correct), will reach the size of an elevator in less than an hour. One of the guests, known as Pascal (Santi Millán), claims that he knows why they're there, and confesses to the group that he hit Fermat's daughter with his car and is the reason she's in the hospital. As the seconds tick by, everyone begins to unravel, and more secrets are revealed — the handsome youth “Galois” (Alejo Sauras), and the lone female in a mathematical boys' club, “Oliva” (Elena Ballesteros), already knew each other and used to be a couple; she isn't strangers with the elder AARP rep “Hilbert” (Lluis Homar), either — until, eventually, we find out that Pascal has been wrong all along.

***Spoilers End***

Comparisons to Saw have been drawn — each features an excruciatingly elaborate revenge plot — but Saw lacks the elegance of Fermat's Room. The Saw flicks (for the sake of argument we'll pretend that all the installations are one movie, though I don't know who would argue with that) are all blood, gore and human innards. The only instance of violence in Fermat's Room is Galois, in fit of hotheaded rage, throwing a punch.

The acting, like the plot, defeats that in Saw with an admirable grace. It's easy to feign terror in response to the bloody horrors that make up Saw, but the psychological terror of Fermat's Room (i.e. being trapped in a room that will crush you alive, having to rely on your own brain as a means of escape) evokes a more personal fear, one that has to be taken on by people with, oh, I don't know, talent? The walls closing in on you is an age-old fear that afflicts everyone at one point or another, and it's portrayed very eloquently here.

I truly recommend this one as a must-see, so I won't give away the ending. But, if you pay close attention from start to finish, you'll probably be able to guess who the diabolical villain was all along.

DVD Bonus Features:

The movie is strong enough that extra features aren't necessary, which is good, because there aren't any on this disc. I would have liked some behind-the-scenes stuff, interviews with the actors and definitely with creators Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopena, that sort of thing. Nothing too fancy, just a bit of insider info.