Ex Machina (2015)
Sc-Fi, Drama
Directed By: Alex Garland
The idea of Artificial Intelligence is nothing new for Hollywood;
it has been a staple of the science fiction genre for as long as we can
remember. From Terminator to I, Robot it's an idea that has been
cycled through time and time again. So how do you make a new movie about A.I.
stand out among all of the others? Despite what big studio's think, you don't
blow it up to be larger than life, you scale it back. Writer/Director Alex
Garland (28 Days Later) took
something we have seen done numerous times, shrunk it down, and made it into an
intimate, semi-claustrophobic, science-fiction thriller.
When a young programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) wins
a company contest, he thinks he is going to spend a week with the head of the
company (Oscar Isaac) at his private estate. Upon arrival he quickly finds out
this isn't actually reality. Nathan (Isaac) has brought Caleb out to his
facilities, not to spend a week of bonding with him, but to help him in a top
secret experiment. He wants Caleb to test out his new A.I. and see if it can pass as human, if it has a
conscious. This all seems like an incredible opportunity until he meets the
subject. Ava (Alicia Vikander) is her name and she is a stunningly beautiful
piece of technology, so much so that she may convince him that she has more
than just a conscious.
Taking an idea that is usually executed on the biggest scale
possible and shrinking it down to something so small and intimate helped to
create a story that is so real, so emotional, and quite frankly, terrifying.
Most movies of this kind go for the "end of the world' scenario where the
A.I. either wipes out the world or makes an attempt to. They always want to
press the idea that computers would destroy us in a large scale event. What Ex Machina does is takes that fear of
A.I. and spins it in a new light. Instead of fearing for the end of man you
fear for the sanity of man. The idea of an A.I. that can make you fall in love,
that can manipulate you and change you, is absolutely terrifying.
When making a small, contained story the most important
component in that is the cast. Of course you need a good script and talent
behind the camera but when you are going to be staring at only three or four
faces for nearly two hours, they need to fit. Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson,
and Alicia Vikander felt like they were made for their parts. There is no
better guy around right now to play the pretentious asshole than Oscar Isaac,
he showed it in Inside Llewyn Davis
and he shows it even more here. The guy is a powerhouse actor and working
alongside Domhnall Gleeson makes him even better. The perfect passive
counterpart to Isaac's in your face attitude, the two work beautifully off each
other the entire movie.
Even with those two however, this entire movie could have been
a bust if just one thing were to fail. Alicia Vikander as the sultry A.I. unit
Ava is one of the best performances of the year so far. She completely owns the
part and makes the move what it is. The ability to make herself at times feel
clearly like a piece of technology and then at others make you feel things you
never thought you'd feel towards a robot is stunning. She is not only trying to
convince Caleb that she has a conscious, she is trying to convince every single
one of us watching and by end of the film, you will.
Alex Garland has become of the most original voices in
science-fiction, the writer behind such movies as 28 days Later, Sunshine
and Dredd, he has taken a genre that
has become a world of recycled storylines and ideas and created films that, may
not breed new ideas, but takes them and warps them into something fresh and
original that we haven't seen before. Ex
Machina is no exception, he took a trope used so often in the sci-fi genre
and turned it completely on its head. When you finally see the insane and heart
stomping twist of a finale you'll be at a loss for words. It’s thrilling,
funny, emotional, and wonderfully beautiful science-fiction in a world
typically clouded with explosions and cheap story lines. The movie came out on
DVD and Blu-Ray this past Tuesday so if you are like me and missed it in the
theaters, make up for it now. This is easily one of the best of 2015 so far.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches
Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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