Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Fermat's Room (2007)
Director: Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopeña
Movie review
From Time Out London
Four hotshot mathematicians (oh, they exist!) find themselves in a spot of bother when, having solved a riddle posted to them by the illusively monikered ‘Fermat’, they are duly invited to an ego-fanning ideas symposium in the countryside. On arrival, they are locked inside a sleek boudoir where they are forced to answer fiendish maths teasers on pain of death by crushing… or at least that’s what we’re led to believe. Sadly, Spanish writing-directing duo Luis Piedrahita and Rodriga Sopeña are more interested in building on a tortuous, illogical set-up than developing a way to make the maths problems (and the protagonists’ lives) worth giving a fig about. It’s more than competently directed and performed, but you’ll be pulling your hair out as time ticks down, deadlines are passed, walls slowly cave in and you’re still being force-fed huge blocks of flabby, overly intricate backstory. The maths element of the film, which on the surface is its USP, feels like dressing on a taut but tawdry genre thriller.Author: David Jenkins
Time Out London Issue 2023, May 28 - June 3, 2009
Cast & crew
Director: Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopeña
Cast: Lluís Homar, Alejo Sauras full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Rated: 15
Duration: 88 mins
UK Release: May 29 2009
US Release: Nov 16 2007
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now