Astonishing and thought-provoking. A future classic.

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2015)

I'm not normally moved to write reviews - many people much more knowledgeable than me can offer greater insight into the films we watch - but I'm compelled to at least try after having watched Ex-Machina last night.
From the outset, I was utterly hooked. This is a nuanced, delicately ominous portrayal of one possible future that mankind may face. Some may think the film suffers from a plodding pace at times, but I viewed it as a slow-burner without the in-your-face bells and whistles that so often plague Sci-Fi.
There was, to me at least, a faint impression of the foreboding and solitude that we see in The Shining, with long panning silent views of starkly beautiful vistas, the gently increasing sense of dread and the occasional corridor shot.
The film works absolutely wonderfully with it's pared-down cast of just four main characters. Ava is so gently subtle, Nathan, although he tries to hide it behind a buddy exterior, smugly fancies himself as a god of sorts, Caleb grows quickly over the space of a couple of days and Kyoko has her own pivotal role.
All in all this film skilfully builds paranoia upon fear, isolation upon violence to reach it's crescendo.
A superb film, I hope in the future this is seen to be the classic I believe it is.
I won't be happy until I get to see it again on the big screen.