There’s a moment in Ex Machina near the middle of the film where Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) and Nathan (Oscar Isaac) marvel over an artificial brain. Nathan describes the reasoning behind using a gel like substance that can change (new experiences) but still retain its structure (hold memories). It’s a fascinating conversation in that it both serves the plot and manages to mirror what the audience will feel when they watch this movie. Ex Machina is a delightful changeling of a film that engages your mind, your eyes, and your spirit through its near two hour running time.
Much of the charm of this film is how it unfolds, so the basics of the set up will do for you, so as not to reveal anything. Caleb is a talented coder at the world’s largest internet company and in the opening moments of the film he wins his company’s competition to spend a week with the reclusive owner, Nathan. Things seem a bit off from the second he steps on the grounds, but Nathan puts his fears at ease quickly by giving him a nice room and the ability to participate in a Turing experiment. Nathan has developed a robot and asks Caleb to help him see if he’s developed the first true artificial intelligence.
Ex Machina, as written and directed by Alex Garland, is a wonderful addition to the scifi canon. We should expect a smart film from Garland, who wrote one of the smartest zombie movies 28 Days Later, but he even exceeds his promise. This movie is written with such a deft touch, the science nevr gets too complicated but doesn’t feel dumbed down, the characters are fully realized and the movie manages to be incredibly plot heavy while not being bogged down. This kind of nuance and storytelling ability isn’t just in the writing but in how he directs the piece. Ex Machina is mood personified, and Garland channels the stillness that comes from something sinister perhaps being on the horizon with all his visuals. Speaking of those visuals, my word does this movie flow off the screen into your eyes. Garland gets the most out of some amazing production design by Mark Digby and with the help of cinematographer Rob Hardy crafts one of the best looking films of the year. What struck me most about this film was that despite the surveillance like state a character lives in, the camera work never felt invasive or unnecessarily showy, and the lighting was to die for.
Also providing a visual assist was the VFX team who crafted some of the best visual effects I’ve ever seen in a film. You’ll go see this film and marvel at how amazing they are once you realize you can constantly see through the robot and there’s never an issue. Props must also be paid to the score by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury.
While the production team provided much of the delights of the film, it’s the actors that really make the movie work. As the robot in the center of the tale, Alicia Vikander gives a wonderful performance that never once felt unreal. You truly understand the reasoning behind the AI and are pulled into her gaze. Oscar Isaac as the recluse Nathan is such a perfect fit. Isaac can be as intense as any actor out there and he has played antagonists before, but Nathan is a part that fits like a glove. He channels the immense intellect, world weariness, and a touch of crazy to create a fully realized character whose presence you feel even when he’s not on screen. Domhnall Gleeson had perhaps the toughest challenge in that his character could have easily been drowned out by the other parts, but he more than holds his own as someone who might be in over their head. I also have to shout out Sonoya Mizuno whose mute supporting performance is just as crucial to the film as these other speaking roles.
Ex Machina is one of the most interesting films I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this year and I’d encourage everyone to go see it.