If you like brain teasers, you will truly enjoy being in Fermat’s room, because it’s full of them! You already know the formula, just lock up people in a room, give them a puzzle and watch what happens. I guess Escape Room is the best comparison although that’s a much more commercial movie. If, however, you’re looking for more Spanish movies with a similar vibe check out The Method and 2019 masterpiece El Hoyo. Holy crap, that movie simply blew me away when I first saw it. And I’ll end this name-dropping with another classic, Cube.
Fermat’s Room is not a movie with a big budget or stars. On the other hand, it looks great with the old school, mechanical sort of chaos. When you add to that the claustrophobic setting, you get a pretty engaging thriller. Granted, as the story unfolds it gets more and more improbable that does spoil the whole thing a bit. However, the rest of the elements along with excellent acting make up for that. This is an intelligent and above all, a refreshing movie that will keep you occupied for ninety minutes.
Four brilliant mathematicians all receive a mysterious invitation for a special brainstorming session. The four of them should find the answer to the question that’s been puzzling mathematicians for quite some time. Or at least that’s what they think. They all have different lives and different problems, but they must function as one in order to solve the puzzle. That might just save their lives.
Opting for mounting tension instead of gore, Fermat’s Room avoids comparisons to Saw and Exam. The atmosphere is full of mystery keeping you away from your phone. And the story, albeit a bit pretentious, is still pretty solid. I think that the lighting and cinematography, in general, could have been better but I guess that’s due to the lack of funds. They went all-in with the whole indie vibe. In the end, if you have nothing else to do and are looking for something familiar and yet with a slightly different taste, check out this movie.
Director: Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopeña
Writer: Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopeña
Cast: Alejo Sauras, Elena Ballesteros, Lluís Homar, Santi Millán, Federico Luppi, Ariadna Cabrol
Fun Facts: In number theory, Fermat’s Last Theorem states that no three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer value of n greater than 2.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016301/
