"They thought search engines were a map of what people were thinking.But actually they were a map to how people are thinking."

Rating: 10/10 (9 June 2015)

Taking a look at films that were to come out in 2015,I spotted an interesting article online about a psychologically-heavy Sci-Fi title,which instead of looking at the humanity in the machine,investigated the machine in the human,which led to me excitingly getting ready to find out what is in the machine.
The plot:
The near future-
Correctly solving a puzzle set by his employer,search engine computer programmer Caleb wins the chance to visit Bluebook CEO Nathan,in his secluded mountain villa.Arriving at the villa, Caleb is told by Nathan that he will spend the week holding sessions performing the "Turing test" on a piece of AI that Nathan has secretly been working on.
Ava,a humanoid female android.After introducing him to Ava,Nathan tells Caleb that his main goal with the test is for him to find out if Ava has a consciousness,and also if Caleb is able to relate to someone,who he is aware of being a robot.Starting the test in a by the book manner,Caleb finds himself gradually building a deep connection with Ava,with Caleb slowly revealing his inner most feelings to Ava.During a power cut,Ava tells Caleb that Nathan is not to be trusted,as Ava begins to perform her own tests.
View on the film:
Making his directing debut,writer/director Alex Garland & cinematographer Rob Hardy set the title in a future which looks eerily close to reality,with Nathan's secluded location being the ultimate Silicon Valley,as Garland and Hardy cover the outdoors in lush greens and blues. Withholding any light from entering the Nathan's villa,Garland and production designer Mark Digby cover the building in metallic glass, which along with giving the film an ultra stylised appearance,also subtly reveals the disconnection in Ava,Nathan & Caleb relationships.Avoiding the boom boom pow of Sci- Fi Action flicks,Garland displays a real precision in keeping the extraordinary effects rooted to the psychological aspects of the movie,by keeping Ava's face non-robotic,Garland shows Ava's increased covering up of her android features to lead to a deep blurring between Ava's wires & mainframes and Caleb's flesh and blood.
Limiting the film to a handful of characters,the screenplay by Garland takes advantage of the limitations,by exploring each thread of mistrust that Ava,Nathan and Caleb are tied to.Whilst Garland does have an interest in showing the technology of the near- future,Garland brilliantly transforms the film from a Sci-Fi Thriller into a fascinating study of a psychopathic culture.
Giving the 3 main characters biblical names, (Ava is a form of Eve, Nathan was a prophet in the court of David, and Caleb was a spy sent into a new land by Moses) Garland opens up Nathan's narcissism,which explodes across the screen,as Nathan declares himself a god,who is unable to see the side effects that his creation may have.Introducing Caleb with underlying hints to his fate,Garland peels away Caleb skin to reveal the isolation Caleb is engulfed in,which goes from computer lights being the only object/person that Caleb surrounds himself with,to Caleb losing control of his "sessions" with Ava,as Ava begins to realise that she is more human than the almost-robotic,lacking in emphatic understanding Caleb.Despite being the only non-human out of the trio,Garland frighteningly wires Ava into being an extremely intelligent psychopath,thanks to Ava making the "Turing tests" being ones where she gets to explore her empathy,sexuality and a manipulative self-awareness.
Digging deep into the heart of the machine,the alluring Alicia Vikander gives a fantastic performance as Ava,with Vikander's expressive face bringing the additional special effects roaring to life,due to Vikander gradually revealing Ava to get a keen grip on knowing when to emphasis the robotic elements of her appearance,and when to highlight the more humanistic aspects."Winning" the opportunity to meet Nathan, Domhnall Gleeson gives a wonderful performance as Caleb,who Gleeson shows as being incredibly uncomfortable in his own skin,and also unaware about the micro- expressions info that he is slipping to Ava & Nathan,whilst Oscar Isaac gives a great ego-tripping performance as Bluebook (a reference to philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's "The Blue Book,") CEO Nathan,who soon discovers the Deus Ex-Machina's Ex Machina.