Interesting Cerebral Sci-fi

Rating: 6/10 (4 July 2015)

"Ex Machina" is a science fiction film by first time director Alex Garland. It's about a young man, named Caleb (played by Domhnall Gleeson) who wins a coding contest through his company, which is a Facebook/Google hybrid. He goes off to the remote residence of his estranged boss, Nathan (Oscar Issac).
Caleb is introduced to Ava (Alicia Vikander), an artificial intelligence in a robot body. His loyalty to his boss starts to rattle as he begins to get to know Ava and the circumstances surrounding her creation.
First off, I thought this was a gorgeously shot film. The remote location of Nathan's residence is beautiful, as is the architecture, and really adds to the atmosphere and experience of much of the films dramatic sequences.
I did enjoy most of the characters as well. Oscar Issac as Nathan and Alicia Vikander as the robot Ava were both very good.
Story wise, the film had a very interesting premise, although I felt it fell a bit short. It was a very exciting film, with a more cerebral science fiction plot line about artificial intelligence, and what it really means to be alive. I thought the film was interesting in the way it manipulated Caleb's character into certain actions. Is this a commentary on social ineptitude and awkwardness caused by an abundance of consumer technology in everyday life?
I am not going to look much deeper than that however. I felt the main weakness with this film is Caleb's character. His inexplicable backsliding between weak willed and conspiratorially motivated was trying. I just did not understand his motivation for helping Ava at all.
And this is where I felt the big hole in the films plot resides. I personally did not emphasize with Ava at all. Even as a living thing, horribly mistreated by her creator, her actions lead inevitably to the deaths of three people, all so she can live. Was this worth it? I understood her motivations for sure. As a captive, trying to break free may be her ultimate goal, regardless of the consequences. But Caleb's actions are completely insane, and made little sense at all. Caleb was by far the least cerebral thing about this film.
As you can see, I personally believe the film had a bit of a weak plot, and a very shallow "moral lesson." Even so, it was well shot, directed and acted, and is an interesting first film from Alex Garland. I could recommend this to most film goers, especially science fiction fans. For me however, this film was OK at best. 6/10