Ex Machina - Movie Review

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2020)

I wouldn't blame anyone who finds Ex Machina boring or uneventful, but I have loved the film every time I've seen it. I was in the cinema as soon as it came out in 2014, and I remember being completely immersed in the story.
Ex Machina is a real character study, and it helps that Domhnall Gleason, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander give one of the best performances of their career. All of the characters were fleshed-out to an impressive degree, and it was nice seeing the layers and figuring out exactly what everyone's motivation was.
Alex Garland followed this film up with Annihilation, which was one of the best films of 2018, but Ex Machina marked his directorial debut and it was an amazing film to kick-start his career.
Garland also wrote the film, and the screenplay is brilliant. It's constantly compelling, and the overall narrative is small in scale but deeply complex. Ex Machina is entirely Garland's vision, and it was clear to see how passionate he was to tell this story.
The whole story built to a finalÃ© which polarised audiences, but I am on the side which loved it. It's open-ended, but I never thought Garland was leaving it open to the possibility of a sequel. He wanted the audience to use their imagination as to what happened next, and I appreciated that.
The score is also mesmerising. There's a scene in the middle of the film which is small but has always felt out of place. It's a dance scene, and it doesn't quite fit. That's my only negative in a film which is masterfully crafted, and a strong recommendation to all.
SCORE: 96%