EX MACHINA - review

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2016)

Ex machina is a hell of a story. Very simple from the surface, but deep down it's polluted with the raw notions of betrayal. It's one of the few sci-fi films which under limited resources makes the fullest utilisation with brave direction and seamless vfx. I simply love the plot and how it unfolds. The way the film has been visualized with metal, lights & glass goes very well with the chemistry of all the 4 characters. As deeper we get, we find a mythological connect which is not complex but very effective. Alicia Vikader (Ava) has done justice to her character true to her core. She makes you feel the realism in artificial intelligence. All her movements and gestures of a robot are excellent, especially in the blackout scenes. Oscar Isaac (Nathan) has a great command and controls the film until everything falls apart. Domhnall Gleeson (Caleb) is a clean slate which can be written and rewritten. His character of a chosen participant for a strange, but a fascinating experiment who eventually discovers the dark truth of AI. His interactions with Ava as the world's first true artificial intelligence, a robot are scenes not to be missed. Alex Garland's direction and the way he handles his writing shows a master in making. I liked his work since 28 Days Later (2002) & Sunshine (2007). Everything has a great character like the spare parts of the robots and the house. The philosophical plot has been handled very well which shows what can happen and go wrong. This is an impressive directional debut. Background score is good. Camera is handled very tightly without giving a jerk in the seamless shot takings. Edited well, but could have been bit more crisp. Overall, I really enjoyed the film except few scenes which get too lost sometimes. And there are few loose ends which keeps you wanting for more and I also expected a post credit scene. This a great piece of work which shows what can be done if you have an outstanding story with a bunch of some skillful actors. Ex Machina leaves you wanting for, hungry and in search of such more films. And when I finished watching it, I remembered Ava's words "Isn't it strange, to create something that hates you?"