Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander

Directed by: Alex Garland

Runtime: 108 minutes

Rated: R

   Set in a not so distant future, Alex Garland’s directorial debut is a work of creative genius. Every frame is pieced together cautiously and carefully to make the viewer sense a scene of suspense, compassion, security, and terror, while still being able to decipher the mindsets of each character. As far as technicality goes, the film is exceptional. It is visually appealing with the direction of a maestro carrying a camera. That being said, the body language of the characters and the imagery throughout the film communicate more information than anything else. If a viewer watches this film with the sound turned off, he or she can easily make out a large majority of what occurs. If anything the dialogue is somewhat of a distraction. That is my only problem with the film. Garland’s main position in film is that of a screenwriter. When screenwriters try to pen films that take place in enclosed places with limited characters, they tend to fill some of it with dialogue that is insignificant and often outlandish (for example: Gravity).

   Man vs. Machine. Masculinity vs. Femininity. Humanity vs. Humanity. Ex Machina portrays many of our world’s social struggles under one single setting: a futuristic home in the middle of nowhere. The main character, Caleb (Gleeson), works at a large search engine corporation known as Bluebook and is selected to spend a week surrounded by thousands of acres in property at the CEO’s (Isaac) home. The CEO is a younger businessman, named Nathan, who seems surprisingly down to earth at first and they both hit it off. Nathan proposes a project to Caleb, where Caleb will spend a week at the house conducting artificial intelligence experiments on a robot, named Ava (Vikander), who is not far from a human-like figure and intellect. As Caleb and Ava become more attached to each other, problems within the home erupt and darkness quickens.

    This science-fiction film is very different from others in many lights. Instead of taking place in a dystopian society, it serves as possibly a cause to a dystopian society. Instead of showing a Frankenstein-like creation (where man makes monster). It seems more as if monster makes monster. And instead of being a big-budget Hollywood odyssey, this film is a low-budget indie that accomplishes more without many resources. It is clearly a work of ingenuity and you would not only do the filmmakers a favor in going to see it, but also yourself.

A-