Thursday, April 30, 2015

Film Review: Ex Machina



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. 

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