8/10

Rating: 8/10 (31 May 2015)

"Ex-Machina" is a fantastic sci-fi think piece with also ever better elements of a mystery film. It delivers on many levels yet fails to give the viewer that kick of amazement or mind-f**k that it could have delivered.
I have been an Alex Garland fan for quite some time. Sunshine is one of my favorite movies and I was really, really excited to see how he would make it into the director's chair and believe me this is one of the best transitions we have seen. He obviously has already a ton of on-set experience, but still he manages to provide his movie with a very, very specific style, aesthetic and visual that not even experienced directors manage to pull off. The movie feels incredibly fluent. Combining the talents of his editor and his DP, Garland has put together one of those films where every shot, other than looking beautiful thanks also to some amazing production design, feels right and worth it's time. There is not one single frame that should not be in this movie. He gives his actors some amazing material to work with and they rise to the occasion: they all give really convincing performances especially Oscar Isaacs, whom I wasn't really totally on board with yet, does really layered and complex work, every time he was on screen you felt his character come through. The storytelling is also fabulous and the turns it takes are interesting and fit the plot and the characters even thought there are some other moments that don't quite meld in when thinking back. Finally, the thought-provoking aspects of the film are remarkable. There is so much to be found here I think one viewing would not be exhaustive.
Yet, talking about those thought provoking elements: firstly, they sometimes derail from being genuine and feel too on the nose. I repeat this happens only a few times, but it does quite stick out as if the movie is unnecessarily trying too hard to be stimulating. Moreover, as I said in my intro, I didn't finish the film and go "Oh my God". And that isn't due to the final shot (I get how some people may say that I didn't explode only because it wasn't this great epic moment), on the contrary that final shot was quite something to sink your teeth in. It's just that I finished the film and went: "Well OK, I guess that's it". It is a little too self contained. The reflection ends as the film ends and there is a little too much that is left unresolved. I get it, you want to make a movie with an open ending so we can think for ourselves, I love that! But there is a difference with just letting us figure it out ALL by ourselves. It just should have ended ten minutes earlier or ten minutes later. In either case it would have been better than the slight underwhelming feel I got form where it actually ended.
That still isn't a detraction from the hugely fascinating ideas the film puts forwards yet kind of leaves there without exploring. It is incredibly stimulating to watch and there are great and many tension filled moments that I enjoyed throughly.