4/5 Ex Machina Next weekend, hundreds of millions of people around the world will line up and pay to see a movie about a mad robot named Ultron who has realized that man does not know what’s best. Just a few theaters down the hall there will be a film named Ex Machina playing and I am 100% positive only a small fraction of the Ultron audience will tune in too see it. I am not here to dog the Avengers movie, but simply to emphasize the existence of this great, low-budget film that tells the exact same story with about three times the subtlety and five times the intelligence. Before Ex Machina, Alex Garland made a living writing screenplays for several acclaimed science fiction films. Not only does he have one blockbuster under his belt with the 2012 remake of Dredd, but he also is a two-time collaborator with Danny Boyle, having wrote both 28 Days Later and Sunshine. Garland has done his time, and a feature debut is long overdo. He does not disappoint. Ex Machina takes everything great about his Boyle films - genre fair with a brain -, adds a thick coat of sexy cool, and gifts us with what is sure to be one of the premier sci-fi films of the year. The story’s protagonist is a simple, good-hearted programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson). Caleb, an employee at the premier search engine company Bluebook, wins a contest that gifts him with a weeks vacation at the home of the company’s illusive creator, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). You can imagine how his excitement and nervousness only grows when he realizes it takes a helicopter ride to travel to the enigmatic genius’ mountain home/research facility. It does not take long for Caleb to realize Nathan is interested in more than hanging out and playing Xbox. | Director: Alex Garland Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac Writer: Alex Garland |
It also does not take long for him to realize this man is a little off. Always in varying stages of drunkenness, Nathan is rude, arrogant, and a heavy helping of creepy. Isaac, who is burning up Hollywood every since his turn as Llewyn Davis, has a ball playing this character. He uses the same level of subtle dedication to character he used in last year’s A Most Violent Year, but with an extra helping of edge and mystery. His character may not be a "good guy," but you will miss him whenever he is not on-screen.
Now that we have established the character of Nathan, let’s focus on his intentions. He has brought Caleb out to his compound to use him in an experiment. Nathan has built a female robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander), who’s beauty and realism will wow you just as much as they do Caleb, and he plans on using his ecstatic employee to perform a Turing Test on her. For those of you who do not know, a Turing Test, named after the subject of last year’s The Imitation Game, is a test in which a man interacts with an unseen machine in an attempt to determine if the machine can pass as human. If the subject is able to fool the observer into thinking it is not a robot they are talking to, they have passed the test. In that description lies the major plot of Ex Machina.
It sounds like a fair amount of exposition to sort through, but Garland’s expert writing and direction gets you locked into the story with little time wasted. Just as he was able to pull some lasting reflections out of the zombie genre with 28 Days Later, Garland uses Ex Machina as a grand stage to dissect a wide range of topics, from the God complex that arises when humans create life to the warped ego of self-ordained genius men. Sure, the film asks the loaded question of what it means to create life, but many movies have done that before. What sets Ex Machina apart is the subtly complex interactions between the three leads.
I take that back, what REALLY sets the movie apart is Vikander, the Swedish actress best known for supporting roles in Anna Karenina and Seventh Son. This is by far the greatest opportunity she has had so far to showcase what a wonderful actress she is. She nails every aspect of this performance, from the fluidity of Ava’s movements to the grace of her speech patterns. It’s easy to imagine someone falling for her beauty and innocence, as Caleb slowly does. To say Ava is one of the coolest, most chilling, sexiest robots ever put on film is a drastic understatement. She is so much more thanks to Vikander.
Though the film presents some big ideas to reflect on, it is not just a think piece. Garland shows a deft hand at building atmosphere and tension. The first inklings of something being wrong arrive in a near whisper; but by the end, the troubles crescendo to nail-biting levels. If this still is not enough for you, Ex Machina ends with a twist that is truly chilling. The answers are right there in front of you, but you will never see them coming.
Now that we have established the character of Nathan, let’s focus on his intentions. He has brought Caleb out to his compound to use him in an experiment. Nathan has built a female robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander), who’s beauty and realism will wow you just as much as they do Caleb, and he plans on using his ecstatic employee to perform a Turing Test on her. For those of you who do not know, a Turing Test, named after the subject of last year’s The Imitation Game, is a test in which a man interacts with an unseen machine in an attempt to determine if the machine can pass as human. If the subject is able to fool the observer into thinking it is not a robot they are talking to, they have passed the test. In that description lies the major plot of Ex Machina.
It sounds like a fair amount of exposition to sort through, but Garland’s expert writing and direction gets you locked into the story with little time wasted. Just as he was able to pull some lasting reflections out of the zombie genre with 28 Days Later, Garland uses Ex Machina as a grand stage to dissect a wide range of topics, from the God complex that arises when humans create life to the warped ego of self-ordained genius men. Sure, the film asks the loaded question of what it means to create life, but many movies have done that before. What sets Ex Machina apart is the subtly complex interactions between the three leads.
I take that back, what REALLY sets the movie apart is Vikander, the Swedish actress best known for supporting roles in Anna Karenina and Seventh Son. This is by far the greatest opportunity she has had so far to showcase what a wonderful actress she is. She nails every aspect of this performance, from the fluidity of Ava’s movements to the grace of her speech patterns. It’s easy to imagine someone falling for her beauty and innocence, as Caleb slowly does. To say Ava is one of the coolest, most chilling, sexiest robots ever put on film is a drastic understatement. She is so much more thanks to Vikander.
Though the film presents some big ideas to reflect on, it is not just a think piece. Garland shows a deft hand at building atmosphere and tension. The first inklings of something being wrong arrive in a near whisper; but by the end, the troubles crescendo to nail-biting levels. If this still is not enough for you, Ex Machina ends with a twist that is truly chilling. The answers are right there in front of you, but you will never see them coming.