Ex Machina (Mainly Spoiler-free Review)

This is one of those films that comes along once in a generation… And no, I don’t mean this is some groundbreaking plot concerning humans and A.I. However, the way this particular film was handled with its story, the directing, the acting, and the way it was shot, is a home-run in my book. Great sushi is great sushi, and we all know when we’ve tasted bad sushi. In the case of “Ex Machina“, this is a genre film that hits all the right notes, leaving your mind in a frenzy as you walk out of the theater, attempting to process what went on during the 1hr and 48 min running time.

Enter: Caleb. A computer programmer for a company that may as well be a fictional Google within the confines of this film. He wins an internal company contest to get to go and spend a week with the company’s CEO. Enter: Nathan. Once Caleb is dropped off in the middle of nowhere, he is led to Nathan’s epic hideaway home, complete with self-locking doors in the event of a power outage, a futuristic underground facility, and apparently an endless supply of booze and sushi, ha! But in all seriousness, the atmosphere Caleb enters from the get-go is one that creates a feeling of awkward, and uncomfortable energy. It becomes obvious he’s in for one hell of a week from the CEO of the company he works for…

Now, without getting into significant spoilers, Nathan brought Caleb to his tucked away home and research facility to reveal a secret he’s yet to reveal to the free world. And that secret is Ava. She’s an advanced artificial intelligent being that is Nathan’s “god like” creation. However, he needs someone else to interact with her to decide if she’s more than just A.I. and if she can feel compassion, emotions, without merely simulating it all. This poses many questions, not just for Caleb as he has regular sessions with Ava, but also you, the audience, as to whether or not you should be feeling empathy for what is technically just a robot…

Should she be considered a human being? Should humans even be tinkering with playing god in the way Nathan has managed to, and more importantly, what happens when the A.I. starts fearing for its own livelihood? Could there in fact be some scientific genius CEO out there, in the vain of Nathan, that is either very close to having created A.I. like Ava or potentially already has?? Makes one wonder…There have obviously been previous films about advanced robots being manipulated by their human makers, but what Ex Machina does so well is thrusting you into the environment the main characters of Caleb, Nathan, and Ava are in and not letting you go. Perhaps the fact they’re all isolated in a hidden location is what makes this type of story more believable, or maybe it’s simply the outstanding acting performances of Oscar Isaac (Nathan), Domhnall Gleason (Caleb), and Alicia Vikander (Ava).. I’ll leave that up for you to decide.

Lastly, who is the villain of this movie? Human or A.I.? As much as it was easy to look at Nathan’s character as this imposing figure over Caleb, and someone who is truly crossing a dangerous line with his creations, there’s also a chance you will sympathize with his point of view throughout the film. Again, if you’re not careful, you’ll be reflecting on what happened in this film for days after (maybe weeks), and that’s why it’s the best film ever made for its particular genre. I’d expect there to be film studies courses developed 20 years from now solely based on all the layers of this film as it’s that engaging. And if nothing else, there’s one hell of a random, funny, and dare I say classic dance scene to keep the mood of the film from being too dark, and brooding.