The distortion of distinctions !!!

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2015)

There have been many films made by many well known directors over the years that deal with the whole concept and phenomenon of 'Artificial Intelligence' or AI. Some are great, some are not so good. Ex Machina written and directed by first time director Alex Garland is another film that can be added to that list and it deserves all the acclaim that it has received from the critics' circles.
Ex Machina basically is a very personal and intimate film involving very few actors. But the ambitious nature of the script is apparent by analysing what the limited characters in the film stand for and represent. The script has so much to say and it is so layered and directed so well, that it is tough to believe that this is Garland's first film. There are a variety of themes that are at play. Garland talks about the new Godlike status that technology and technological entrepreneurs have obtained in this day and age. They throw technology at us and the general population gets hooked. But Garland in a way is of the opinion that maybe it's not the technology that gets tested by people, but it is the other way round. It is the general population that gets treated like test subjects for technological experiments in this 21st century market.
Alex Garland challenges the viewer to put him/herself in the Robot Ava's shoes and decide whether 'her' actions are truly mechanical and completely devoid of humanity or whether they are not very different from the actions of us humans without really giving an answer and hence he makes a comment about how human beings may be slowly losing the humanity which separates them from other living beings. But the great thing is, he manages to convey these lofty messages without ever being preachy or sentimental. The film has a very understated and hypnotic quality about it that intrigued me. The film's theme of the distortion of distinctions between man and machine reminded me very much of Blade Runner and that too in the best way possible. There are also themes of anti-establishment and subtle elements of feminism that are inherent in the narrative.
The acting is stupendous from all the three main characters involved. Domhnall Gleeson efficiently portrays the naive and idealistic nature of his character Caleb who has the best intentions but who is also oblivious of the game being played at his expense. Alicia Vikander plays the robot 'Ava' which is being tested for Artificial Intelligence. Playing a robot can be very challenging. Sometimes the intentionally mechanical and impassive nature of the character can lead to the performance being boring or sometimes even laughable. But Vikander uses the right amount of subtlety with her facial gestures and mixes them with the general robotic gestures and gives a very convincing performance. But for me the best performance in the film comes from Oscar Isaac who plays the mysterious Nathan. He looks muscular and exudes this masculine aura which makes him intimidating . His character never allows you to make your mind up about him till the ultimate denouement.
Ex Machina is a great debut film from Alex Garland. It is thematically complex and deserves multiple viewings and I am sure that more elements of the screenplay will become perceivable to me when I'll watch it again. I really don't have anything negative to say about it. Ex Machina is an artistic, multi-layered sci-fi classic.