EX MACHINA - Artificial Intelligence amid Sexual Insinuations

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2015)

The movie begins with what seems to be a technological invasion of privacy, hinting at a slightly sinister motivation. However Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a young intelligent computer programmer is lead to believe that he was randomly selected as a winner to have an elite visit at the CEO's estate. Scene two takes us to a remote place far from civilization amongst mountains and glaciers. A helicopter drops a business dressed Caleb in a field of tall grass near a river, where he must search for the secluded home of the eccentric CEO of the world's largest search engine (a fictional replacement for Google). It is a beautiful place, but it gave me a creepy feeling that reminded me of the 1990 movie Misery; however with an ambiance that is more consistent with a Starship than that of a wood cabin. When Caleb eventually enters the cloistered domicile his first sight of his legendary boss is of a man who likes to drink, chit-chat, and lift weights. Brandon (Oscar Isaac) has Caleb sign a non-disclosure agreement and proceeds to let him in on the purpose for his visit. This is where the movie turns superbly nerdy; luckily I can follow along with most of the references to AI, the Turing Test, Chaos Theory, and the associated philosophical consequences thereof. Caleb's assignment is to meet with Ava (Alicia Vikander) to determine if she passes the test of personal awareness. In the end there are 7 different sessions and Caleb is completely convinced that she is aware and perhaps quite suspicious of his employer Brandon. Moreover, Caleb may even begin to doubt his own humanity after an interesting scene that I will not spoil with this write-up. The only other character in this mind-twisting drama play is Sonoya Mizuno who plays Brandon's non-speaking attendant; who never speaks, but often flaunts her sexuality. Amidst the excessive alcohol use, the spaceship like confines of the high-tech facility, and the reoccurring female nudity (its okay, she is just a robot right?), this movie will either bore you or inveigle your imagination. While the closing credits were rolling, I was still pondering the philosophical questions that the movie's ending suggested. One of those questions is about Brandon's God complex and why such a rich man would not possess any genuine female companionship, hence back to the implications of the God Complex. Nonetheless, the final question in my mind leaving this film was, does the awareness of an individual self, lead to the selfish desire for self-preservation at the demise of anyone or anything that stands between us and our own perceived survival? Feel free to answer that question yourself.