The filmmakers have us hooked with a terrific mystery and the challenge of a good puzzle.
Fermat's Room (2008)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:17
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: This stylish yet disappointingly predictable Spanish thriller is never as exciting or ingenious as it hopes to be.
Reviews for Fermat's Room
... a cerebral thriller with a different kind of locked-room mystery.
Fermat's Room appears to be about maths, but it's more of a whodunnit, and a surprisingly watchable one at that.
This is an ingenious, relentlessly exciting film, a moral fable at once visceral and cerebral.
An ingenious Spanish thriller about maths, sex, ambition and dog poo.
The diabolical m.o. in these things is never really satisfactory, and even the fun of the conceit is somewhat muffled by the film’s lurid colour design and headachey close-ups.
The maths element of the film, which on the surface is its USP, feels like dressing on a taut but tawdry genre thriller.
God knows I’m no maths genius but even I can spot that if all four hydraulic presses are pushing the walls inwards at once they would simply jam.
The high tension that should come with a race-against-time scenario is never realised, and the film’s solution to the enigma of who-what-and-why this all happened is disappointing.
It's all done with style, with very little of the strain you might expect from filming in such a restricted environment.
The possibility of being squished to a pulp always focuses the mind, although, as this by-the-numbers Spanish thriller proves, it doesn't necessarily make arithmetic any more interesting.
This feature debut for co-directors Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopeña is never quite as clever as it thinks it is, and there are some sizeable holes in the plot. Still, with its teasing sense of play, you won’t be crawling the walls.
The film is sufficiently tense, economical and fast-moving to warrant a Hollywood remake, but lacks the lethal menace or twisted ingenuity of the original Saw.
There's something dreadfully pedantic about this locked-room mystery.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| | The Twilight Saga: New… | 11/20 |
| | Planet 51 | 11/20 |
| | The Blind Side | 11/20 |
| 94% 94% | Bad Lieutenant: Port o… | 11/20 |
| 88% 88% | Red Cliff | 11/20 |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Fermat's Room at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Moviefone looks back at 7 films that have paved the way for movies like 2012.

BuzzSugar rattles off their 10 favorite current actors with celebrity pedigree.

The AV Club looks back at a dance sequence from the only movie written by... Dr. Seuss?

The Men Who Stare at Goats star answers your questions on TIME.com.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!






