Why I Love Film

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2015)

Maybe I'm jaded by an over-consumption of entertainment and media, but I rarely see a film that actually affects the way I view the world. Ex Machina, an Under the Skin meets a-darker-and-more- pessimistic-Her, did. It asks age old scifi questions: Our humanity makes us worthwhile, but what makes us human? At your core, what makes youyou? It's a spine-tingling mystery-thriller full of intrigue and imminent dread that's heady themes and heavy ambiance are so good it's hard to believe without seeing. Gleeson plays a young coder who's invited to spend a week with an eccentric, shut-in genius (Isaac) who has secretly built the world's first Artificial Intelligence. Like many films about robots, the narrative is more interested in the emotion of its characters than their intelligence. With the brains of Tarkovsky and the sly humor and atmospherics of Kubrick, the science-based melodrama plays out with classic precision. Gleeson is fantastically wide- eyed, while Isaac is wonderfully sinister, conveying so much darkness under his lying eyes and words. The star, however, is Ava, the beautifully created android at the center, who makes this year's Chappie look like a coffee-shop doodle. Surreally portrayed with heartbreaking honesty by Vikander, she represents a warmly naïve sweetness underpinned by an ominous intelligence. Technically, the movie is immaculate: engaging dialogue, perfect sets, striking and horrifying imagery. However, to over- intellectualize the critical merits of the film would be to treat it dishonestly. It's a movie about reconciling intellect with impulse. So while it may not be everyone's cup of tea, its piercing humanity and tonal brilliance remind me of why I've always loved film.