I would like to thank my friend Ellen for the artwork she has provided. To see more of her work, check out www.ellengiaigianettto.com.
Science Fiction is one of my favorite film genres because of
the ideas explored. The genre has been around since 1902 with Georges Melies’ “A
Trip to the Moon” and Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” in 1927. In the years that has
followed, the genre became a staple to B movies but other films like the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" turned the genre into a social commentary of the ongoing Cold War. The year 1968 brought us two
science fiction films with Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Franklin J. Schaffner’s “Planet of the
Apes” that wowed audiences with the visuals and storytelling. The genre has
explored intergalactic space battles (Star Wars), time travel (Back to the Future),
the horror (Alien, The Thing), Artificial Intelligence (The Terminator films,
A.I.) and others.
“Ex Machina” tells the story of computer programmer, Caleb,
who is the lucky winner of a lottery at work and gets to spend a week with his company’s
CEO Nathan. At his giant estate, Nathan has Caleb run a series of tests with
humanoid robot Ava, his newest creation. The film marks the debut of “28 Days
Later” screenwriter Alex Garland and while low budget, the story and visuals
are what I really like about this film. Also are the performances by Domhnall Gleeson,
Oscar Isaac and especially Alicia Vikander. I first saw the film came out on Redbox
and it exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed it so much, I bought the movie and
now sits in my personal collection. I like how they show the relationship between man and machine, which I think is relevant in the present. As I would talk about the film in detail,
there will be spoilers. If you have not seen the film, I highly recommend it.
With the film’s low budget, Alex Garland is allowed to be
creative with the setting and number of characters. Since it takes place at an
isolated estate, this allows us to focus just on the three characters. The
place is half private residence and half research facility, giving it a modern
day look with a futuristic twist. When Caleb first arrives, the helicopter
drops him off and he has to walk to the house. The place looks peaceful and a
perfect vacation spot to get away from the outside world. The exterior scenes is an actual hotel in Norway but most of the interiors was shot in a studio.
Caleb is the outsider that is brought in to observe and he is
us, the audience. We know everything from him, like his tests with Ava or
talking to Nathan. His interactions with Ava seem to bring him a sense of
wonder. He is fascinated with her intelligence and the way she is designed. As
he spends more time at the place, he becomes paranoid about whether or not he is
a robot. In a graphic scene, he cuts himself with a razor to see. Seeing how
Ava lives and controlling Nathan is, he comes up with a plan for her escape.
Nathan lives in this secluded estate, away from everyone else. His character comes across as lonely and a bit arrogant. Isaac based the character on Bobby Fischer and director Stanley Kubrick, right down to his beard. In his conversations with Caleb, he has him refrain from talking about work and more like if they were buddies. He is also shown to binge drink alone and treats his Japanese maid like dirt. This shows his isolation has been getting to him and his obsession with his work. In one my of favorite scenes as is many others, Nathan shows Caleb the maid dancing to music and he joins in while Caleb watches. The rest of the film’s tone is a slow burn but this scene just comes out of nowhere. The dance moves from the two is what makes the scene. The character is also reminiscent of Dr. Frankenstein when it is revealed that he has made other prototypes of humanoid robots before Ava.
Ava spends a majority of the film in a private room. She
longs to go outside and while testing with Caleb, warns him of Nathan and not
to trust him. The former treats her well while the latter keeps her locked up and
tears up her drawings. Her character has a sense of wonder and curiosity
similar to a developing child. One of my favorite scenes with her is when she
tries on clothes for Caleb because she looks happy and warms up to him, leading
to her escape. By the end, she gets her revenge on Nathan by stabbing him but
leaves Caleb locked up and heads to the outside world. This all happens in the
last fifteen minutes and the music added to the tension. This ending could be
seen in two ways, either Ava will live a peaceful life or she can rule the
world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Aq2GEig4R8 - 1st Session
“Ex Machina” was one of my favorites films of 2015, along
with “Sicario”, “The Hateful Eight”, “Mad Max: Fury Road” and many others. It
is a brilliant debut from Garland and I still have to watch his latest film
from earlier this year, “Annihilation”, is on my list to watch. There are many
films I have that I will watch more than once and this is one of them.
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