Ex Machina (Dir. Alex Garland/2015)
Technology can be scary. Google knows every search you type
and Facebook knows who you’re looking at, how often and – with a little
informed research - why. Ex_Machina,
the feature-film debut of Alex Garland (Writer of The Beach and screenwriter of 28
Days Later…) explores these contemporary issues on a small-scale. Located
within the isolated estate of a technological genius, Nathan (Oscar Isaac)
invites employee Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) to visit, and ‘test’ his A.I.
creation, AVA (Alicia Vikander). Garland is not inexperienced when it comes to
cerebral, philosophical explorations on what makes us human. Supported by a
throbbing electronic score, Ex-Machina
manages to combine the morality of Never
Let Me Go with the futuristic-technology of Sunshine. Key-card doors and glassy surfaces create a mise-en-scène
that is part-Silent Running and
part-iPad – we could be on board a spaceship. The red-lighting and ominous
electro-voice hints at HAL-like A.I. rebelliousness from the get-go, but it’s
Caleb and Nathan’s relationship that frames the story. Ava, of course, is
exceptional – and her motivations are purposefully unclear. But the vest-wearing,
lonely-drinker Nathan is a unique creation unto himself. Caleb desperately
trying to understand and interact with him is often met with an awkward
riposte. Caleb is asking the wrong question or searching for the wrong answers.
Alongside Chappie and the
sentinel-stories of Marvel, it seems A.I. is a thematic focus-point in this cinematic-era.
Ex_Machina though is the superior
offering. Juxtaposing questionable ethics of corporate powers with thoughts
about identity, it’s a dystopia that seems uncomfortably real.
Rating: 8/10
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