It’s rare for a film to impact a person’s psyche to the
point that you question your own sensibilities. Ex Machina from first time
director Alex
Garland is this type of classic sci-fi psychological thriller. Notwithstanding
some unanswered questions that can’t be discussed without ruining some
suspense, Ex Machina delves deep into the reality of Artificial Intelligence pondering
the subject with a classic foresight and poignant insight. Leaving the film I felt
drugged by the experience of primeval desire and awareness in its most basic
form at the root of ego. Garland (screenwriter for “28
Days Later”, “The
Beach”, and “Logan's
Run”) who also wrote the screenplay for Ex Machina tackles immense topics like
the origin of vanity, cruelty, hate and survival as well as empathy from a
variety of complexities. His pace and direction are superb on a Bergman like
level of intensity and natural awareness.
Such a marvel of compelling drama could not
be pulled off without the ”perfect” cast as described by Garland. Oscar Isaac’s
measured subtlety is a force to be reckoned with. As piercing and indicative
as possible Isaac gives us clues to his mysterious character painting the CEO
genius inventor, Nathan, with an incredible amount of depth and complexity that
would leave you wanting to see this film again to attempt to identify his
openings and weaknesses that you at once deny due to the weight of his
manipulative strength. The employee he chooses to test his new creation, Caleb,
played proficiently by Domhnall Gleeson, (delightful in “About Time”) draws on
Isaac’s power with the fragility, confusion, and vulnerability that leaves you
surprised and shocked with just how the script cuts on, again, a colossal depth
of complexities. His efforts alone make him even more of a case study than the robot,
passionately portrayed with a majestic grace and believable wonder. Alicia Vikander’s Ava leaves you wanting, even
begging, to see what she could do next. Her exploration of sexuality and beauty
exposes our very essence. Literally taking on the weight of the world, Ava and
her dialog makes you fall in love while at the same time questioning your own
sensibilities.
Ex Machina will forever by etched as one of if not the
greatest film exploring the topic of Artificial Intelligence adding to the majesty
of “2001”’s Hal or “Prometheus’s” David with more of an introspective look
into human nature and an epic warning toward the science.
