High concept sci-fi movies are by nature a pretty rare sight and it’s even more rare that they’re executed to full potential. Spanish effort The Platform (El hoyo in Spanish) from director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia attempts to tackle this dilemma with a premise of multilevel structure filled with people whose survival skills and morals are challenged. While it finds air to breathe for a while with sharp dialogue and usage of limited space, it does run a bit out of steam when psychological elements start to appear.
Premise is introduced, presented and produced effortlessly as the screenplay really hits all its marks in communicating to an audience what is happening. The main set is simplistic and bare-boned compared to most stuff in this CGI-era but you might not even notice it since the film really trusts the script and dialogue. Main character Goreng (Iván Massagué) is paired up with Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor), Baharat (Emilio Buale Coka) and Imoguiri (Antonia San Juan) in different parts of the story. Eguileor and San Juan are especially great in these pair-ups, performing their lines with extreme precision.
The Platform doesn’t really have the finishing touch that the story requires so it gets fairly vague with the resolution. Its theme obviously has a lot to say about the wealthy versus poor and treating those who are less fortunate than you. Despite this the film kind of throws everything at the wall in the end which leads to muddled messages and feelings we end up having about the characters. Also about halfway through it starts to delve into ”the administration” and the mysteries around it which is poorly explained compared to the main premise so it makes you wonder if the writers were hesitant about the realism of the story.
Smileys: Premise, dialogue, Zorion Eguileor
Frowneys: Ending, story
It was surprising to see what brutal things they decided to show and what they decided not to.
