Ex Machina

Ex Machina is a film that really slipped under mine and a lot of people's radars from 2015.

Let's be real, 2015 was a pretty strong year for movies. The very fact that this movie came out the same month as Furious 7 says something. I'm not putting those two movies on the same level, I'm just saying there were a lot of strong movies that came out and it must have been tough for this small independent movie about Artificial Intelligence to really shine. However, I am kind of kicking myself for not checking this movie out sooner because it is really flipping good.

Ex Machina follows the story of a programmer by the name of Caleb (played by Domhnall Gleason). Caleb is chosen in a lottery to travel to the remote estate of the CEO of his company Nathan Bateman (played by Oscar Isaacs).

Nathan is your eccentric billionaire and he needs Caleb's help to test his new breakthrough, actual artificial intelligence. This AI comes in the form of Ava (played by Alicia Vikander).

Caleb's job is to ask Ava questions and perform what Nathan calls the Turing Test. It is a test to determine whether or not Caleb can tell if he's talking to a human or a computer when he's having conversations with Ava.

This movie takes place in a very isolated environment. In total, the three main characters, Ava, Caleb, and Nathan are really the only characters in the film. Sure there is one other robot but she is not nearly as important.

The main action of the movie comes in the conversations Caleb has with Ava and the manipulation that occurs between all three. Is Nathan manipulating Caleb? Is Ava manipulating Caleb? Is Caleb manipulating anybody? For a really condensed film there is a lot of drama going on between the three of them and it is actually really psychological.

And that psychological element really only works if the cast is good and this cast is phenomenal. All three of these actors are people who have built a pretty good career over the past 5 or so years and I keep seeing them and really enjoying them. Of course Isaacs and Gleason are in Star Wars now, Vikander is showing up more and more and is slated to be the new Tomb Raider.

They all do an excellent job in this movie because they play off one another incredibly well.

The whole movie is pretty twisted and its a thinker. I think the thing that I liked about the film was that it made me think about artificial intelligence, about consciousness, and all the while it didn't feel pretentious at all. I haven't seen Darren Aronofsky's movie mother! yet, but I have heard that it is a little bit pretentious in the moments where the director is basically yelling, ASK ME WHAT IT MEANS! I never felt that way during Ex Machina. It makes me wonder why I haven't heard of the director, Alex Garland until now and why he's not getting more movies these days. I really hope he does more because he did a phenomenal job with this movie.

I think one of the only criticisms of the film is that it is a very quiet film. Maybe it had something to do with the TV I was watching it on but I had to turn the volume all the way up to hear what the hell was going on in the movie.

Whatever you do, don't watch this movie when you are tired. If you are anything like me, you will probably fall asleep and miss some pretty important parts of the film. I was watching it last night and I had to turn it off because I was dozing off, not because it was bad, but because the lighting is so dim, the dialogue is so quiet, and a lot of the conflict happens in silence. But it's done very well.

I do get why this movie went under the radar for a lot of people though. While it is a pretty great movie, it is pretty self contained. Like I said, there are really only three characters in the film and it all happens within the confines of Nathan's house. I bet the money that they saved by keeping this in one location helped pay for the incredible visual effects they used in this film, especially for Alicia Vikander's character.

Holy crap...

Overall, I really enjoyed Ex Machina. It showed off the acting chops of three really good actors in Gleason, Isaacs, and Vikander. I thought the ending of the film was phenomenal and incredibly chilling overall. The movie didn't feel pretentious at all and it also didn't feel like a really important movie. You know how some movies you go into it feeling like this is super important? (I felt that way about a movie like Moonlight or 12 Years a Slave). Ex Machina never felt that way. If you're just a casual movie goer, you might actually really enjoy Ex Machina. Lastly, the visual effects and the entire atmosphere of the film was great. I wouldn't consider this movie a horror film at all, but having just watched The Village and then watching this film, I can honestly say I was more haunted by this film that I was The Village. Obviously this movie is leaps and bounds better than that film and I'm really glad I checked it out. Please if you have Hulu or Amazon Prime, check out Ex Machina, you will not be disappointed.

But those are my thoughts. What did you think? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for the next film I should review on this blog. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews of what's next we can talk about.

I'll leave you with this. Alicia Vikander is just a stunningly beautiful actress. I could listen to her talk all day. Enjoy!