The Motive
A frustrated accountant turns his apartment building into a living laboratory for literary ambition, manipulating neighbors until his imagined masterpiece becomes dangerously real.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- sardonic
- tense
- morbid
- intense movie night
- Spanish cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly found a sharply constructed, darkly comic Spanish drama elevated by Javier Gutiérrez's lead performance, while viewing its moral descent as uneven but compelling.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Álvaro manipulates his neighbors and engineers circumstances so their lives can supply the plot of his desired novel.
Álvaro's wish to surpass Amanda drives him from frustrated writing exercises toward calculated manipulation and criminal consequences.
The film frames Álvaro's grandiose novelistic aspirations against the increasingly dangerous effects of his amateur social experiments.
Álvaro's new building brings together struggling Mexican immigrants, an old Francoist, a caretaker, and other residents whose tensions become his material.
Films like The Motive, and why
The Player
shared blackly comic psychological drama, corrosive ambition, and manipulation of ordinary lives for artistic purposes
Barton Fink
shared dark satire of creative ambition, moral compromise, and escalating consequences
The Square
shared unsettling black humor, social observation, and an outsider protagonist reshaping reality around himself
Movie Details
- Director
- Manuel Martín Cuenca
- Release Date
- 2017-11-17
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (293)
Cast
- Javier Gutiérrez
- María León
- Adelfa Calvo
- Adriana Paz
- Tenoch Huerta Mejía
- Antonio de la Torre
- Cris Nollet
- Rafael Téllez
- Domi del Postigo
- José Carlos Carmona
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Motive about?
- A frustrated accountant turns his apartment building into a living laboratory for literary ambition, manipulating neighbors until his imagined masterpiece becomes dangerously real.
- What is The Motive like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Motive as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Motive violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Motive as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Motive?
- Critics broadly found a sharply constructed, darkly comic Spanish drama elevated by Javier Gutiérrez's lead performance, while viewing its moral descent as uneven but compelling.
- Which films are like The Motive?
- Films with a similar feel include The Player, Barton Fink, and The Square.
- How long is The Motive?
- The Motive runs 104 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Motive?
- In United States, The Motive streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
