Real, Philosophical Sci-Fy

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2015)

Ex Machina is in general a pretty deeply affecting film if your willing to pay attention. It's a movie that about more than just a robot as it tells the story of people, evolution and in some aspects God. It's definitely a film that's going to leave you with a lot to think about but in fairness it has a few weak-points in the areas of plot and character however nothing dire.
One of the film's strongest features is it's stunning and often deeply affecting cinematography. It is decidedly striking and eery how the AI, Ava is framed in shots. Occasionally she is draped in shadow which effectively emphasises the non-human elements of her while at other times we will see her consciousness emphasised perhaps with a shot of her face against glass with the reflected and original visual filling up the screen assaulting the viewer with the perfectly human-but-not-quite-human performance of Alicia Vikander. It is also very striking how effectively Garland juxtaposes the sleek, futuristic look of Nathan's house with the dense forested areas that surround, a feature that becomes very meaningful in the last scene where Ava strolls through the forest and discovering this new world that is so incredibly different to the one she had known so far in her life, an element which I personally relate to the idea of religion as Ava almost appears as like Eden in the creation story except for rather than being the of the humans Ava is the first or the AI's (in a manor of speaking).
The idea of religion and God is brought up a few times throughout the film and I feel that it is done in a very interesting fashion. Near the beginning of the film we see both the two human leads refer to the creation of AI as something that makes man akin to gods. And the title itself relates to how in Greek plays the gods would often come down from the heavens and fix all the heroes problems. This idea could be linked to the finale of the film where the human character, Caleb, releases Ava. This could again link to the idea that in some ways the film is presenting the human leads as the god like creators of the AI as, if one was to think of this as a classical Greek play Caleb would be the god that resolves Ava's problems.
However there is a flip side to this idea. As the humans in the story are also occasionally represented as inferiors to the AI with Nathan himself referring to humans as 'upright apes' that the AIs will look back on as their inferiors, presenting the idea that the AIs might not be man's godly creation but the an evolutionary step away from humanity itself. This idea could also refer to the finale, as in the end Ava locks Caleb in Nathan's house, leaving him to die while she moves on without him as opposed to how Caleb himself thought that they may be able to escape together. This relates to the idea of evolution as the human character is being deserted and left behind by his more evolved counter part.
So in a way it seems that Ex Machina is trying to generate two opposing ideas of how what the creation of powerful AI means to humanity. Are we their gods, their creators, their saviours or are we just their old, weak, un- evolved ancestors who's time it is to go extinct. For me this is where Ex Machina's real, powerful depth lies and why I think it may be one of the most philosophically powerful pieces of sci-fy to be released in the last few years, possibly even surpassing Children of Men.
However somewhat unlike Children of Men there are a few problems with Ex Machina's plot. The film slows down a little bit in the middle act however not severely. The film however is rather predictable at times. After the film ended I realised that one plot point was supposed to be a surprising twist however it was so incredibly predictable that I didn't even recognise that I was supposed to be shocked. I also didn't enjoy Domhnall Gleeson's performance as much as I expected to. I really loved him in About Time, Frank and Black Mirror. I feel like he is actor who plays boyish and charming perfectly and that is something that he didn't really get to play on too much in this film as throughout he was generally being manipulated by one character or the other meaning that he couldn't really exercise said charm. I also think that the actor definitely works better when utilising his native accent as I feel that there were some lines that the forced American inflection were holding him back from delivering to the best of his ability.
Ex Machina isn't a perfect film but it is constantly gripping and gives you a lot to think about after watching it. The scenery and the way it is shot really stands out and there was clearly a lot of effort put in by Garland in terms of how he framed his characters and their surroundings.