Ex Machina (Review) - Smart, Thought-Provoking Sci-Fi

Ava (Alicia Vikander)

The Turing test is an examination given to a computer in order to determine whether or not it can be considered true artificial intelligence. The test is based entirely upon a candidate communicating with two individuals - one being a computer, the other being a human - and through a series of questions, the candidate must decide which of the two other entities is human. In the actual test, the human candidate is given no visual suggestion as to which other participant is human, and must make their decision solely on textual responses. Ex Machina puts a genius spin on this idea, and has computer programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) speak directly to Ava (Alicia Vikander)...the difference being that Ava is psychically an android standing in front of Caleb, therefore adding an immediate, visual contradiction to the test. 

Caleb is given this incredible opportunity because he won the lottery at the search-engine at which he works, resulting in him being flown to his estranged boss' home. Caleb's boss Nathan (Oscar Isaac) is an intimidatingly intelligent man who has an air of mystery to him; resulting in a man whose emotions are just as difficult to read as any cyborg, if not more so. Gradually over the course of the film, you're given small glimpses into why exactly Caleb was flown to this isolated location, and things soon take a much more insidious turn. 

Caleb & Nathan (Domhnall Gleeson & Oscar Isaac)

To call Ex Machina a sci-fi movie doesn't do it nearly enough justice, the same way that calling Fight Club a thriller barely scrapes the surface. It's a film which never panders to its audience, and as a result, it is a vastly intelligent film which - at the risk of sounding pretentious - works on so many levels. Of course, there's the basic story about a man testing the humanity of a machine. However, this conjures questions of humanity itself and some rarely touched-on issues such as ethics concerning robotics. Naturally, it isn't really something we've had to consider with modern day technology, but Ex Machina presents issues such as these in a very interesting manner. All of this wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the three central roles being played so perfectly. 

This is a movie which is, essentially, a whole bunch of conversations happening as a result of eachother. Nathan befriends Caleb; Caleb talks to Ava; Ava talks about Nathan, and so on and so forth. But it's the ways in which these conversations impact others so dramatically that keeps the movie going at an ever-speeding pace. What initially seemed harmless inevitably becomes a major plot point, and this is what makes Ex Machina such a joy to watch. Some aspects towards the end are predictable, but the conclusion itself most certainly isn't - and in that lies the only point of contention I think the movie may have created for itself. 

Once the credits begin to roll, some may be disappointed by the frankly bleak ending the film goes for. Personally, I thought it was a perfect end to a great movie, because it leaves you to make some of your own interpretations. It's far from wholly open-ended, but the motives each character possess aren't made entirely clear. 

Verdict
Ex Machina is the best kind of sci-fi: it provides interesting perspectives into what the future of technology holds, and then goes on to raise deep, philosophical questions about that exact technology. If you prefer your films grounded in complete reality, then maybe it won't be for you, but there wasn't a moment during the film which I wished had ended sooner. 

"One day the A.Is are going to look back on us

the same way we look at fossils."