Subtle and suspenseful with enough food for thought.

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2015)

Something about Ex Machina completely engrossed me into it. The 108 minutes smoothly passed away despite the slow-burning nature of its screenplay. Writer and debut director Alex Garland explores numerous ideals related to humanity with a seemingly basic premise and setup. A.I. Robots in movies is nothing new but Garland's visions here are not something you would be able to see if you just scratch the surface.
A young nerdy programmer Caleb (Domhall Gleeson) receives a mail that he has won some big coding contest. We see that his face is being unknowingly scanned by his webcam and phone cam. As the prize he gets to spend a week at his company's (Blue Book) CEO's place, which is a luxurious estate amidst beautiful mountains. CEO Nathan (Oscar Isaac) tells Caleb its not a home but more of a research facility. The facility is modern and sleek, the rooms have no window and you have instant claustrophobic feel about it. Nathan tells Caleb is here to perform Turing Test on his creation, Ava (Alicia Vikander) an incredibly advanced A.I. Robot who looks lifelike with skin on her face . Caleb is as stunned as we are watching Ava. She is able replicate human-like behavior with extreme precision and even can perform lie-detection based on micro-expression on our faces!! She is charming as well and we see Caleb & Ava growing fond of each as they interact every day as part of the test. Everything is monitored by Nathan through CCTV cameras. Things seem smooth until one day Ava tells Caleb not to trust Nathan when cameras are shut by power cut. From here on the story takes an unpredictable turn, there is no clue who is right and who is wrong or who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist.
The film explores various concepts such the meaning of consciousness and self-awareness, it questions your ethical viewpoint and blurs effectively the line between the human mind and AI. Are AIs truly the next stage of human evolution? Is singularity possible? It explores in these regions in great depth at the same time leaves some things open for interpretation. Adding to it, the film is also a suspenseful psychological thriller where you think every character is not what he/she seems to. And there are only 3 main characters here, all in the claustrophobic setting of the estate. The scene where Caleb cuts his hand to check if himself is a robot was really intense and frightening. There is also one hilarious out-of-the-box dance sequence giving a brief break from the freakish atmosphere. The soundtrack mostly of piano is haunting and beautiful at the same time. The music sets up requisite atmosphere and tone perfectly. The camera work is simply beautiful, be it the external landscape or the sleek interior shots. The production design and special effects are also impressive considering the low-budget of the film.
At the end, cannot forget the 3 actors who did a great job. Alicia Vikander I feel nails every expression as the AI Robot and captures your attention in every scene she is present. Domhall as the lonely nerd and Oscar as the alcoholic genius were great too. Debut director Alex Garland shows immense potential and I am very much looking forward towards his next work. Overall, Ex Machina I believe is treat for all the true science-fiction fans and also those who like slow-burning atmospheric thrillers. There is not much superficial robot action here as it is not sci-fi action film. Its a film driven by ideas not by action. Hope you keep that in mind. If you want a movie deeply rooted towards the ideals of AI, Ex Machina is not to be missed. It was intriguing, thoughtful, tense and beautiful in its own way. Absolutely loved it!
RATING: [4/5]