Ex_Machina

Please note this review is slightly shorter than my usual ones might be as I’m trying to remain as spoiler free as possible. A longer spoiler filled analysis will be up in a few weeks once more people have seen it.

Ex_Machina is the directorial debut of writer Alex Garland, Garland started his career in fact as a novelist and then moved to screenwriting. It would be natural then when you hear that a film is the debut of a writer especially one by a former novelist you might be full of dread expecting it to be dialogue heavy ,lack visual substance and have very little cinematic flourish but Garland proves this idea wrong.

The film follows the story of Caleb (Domhnall Glesson) who in a manner similar to “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” wins a competition to visit the private home of his boss Nathan (Oscar Isaac)(Note I can’t fully review this opening as for the first 2 mins the wrong sound track was playing so it was quite hard to tell what was going on, yet I’ve looked it up to check what was going on) once Caleb arrives at the facility he discovers that it is not fun and games and he is asked to take part in a Turing test with Ava (Alicia Vikander). I won’t say much more for fear of spoiling the plot. However from this point the film becomes and intense drama that questions the nature of humanity and what it means to live. The central cast give their all in terms of performing. Gleeson is  the character that we the audience are supposed to identify with the most and we learn to narrative as he goes through the events he manages to convince us of his confusion surrounding the events. Isaac throwaway the image of Llewyn Davis with a shaved head and a bushy beard. His character walks around in vest in order to display his large muscles and intimidate others but like in Llewyn Davis he makes a perfect jobs of playing a dick yet one who still fascinates you and the character is written is such a way that you are interested in who they are and why they act this way towards others. The third star of the piece is Vikander who shines a Ava she plays Ava with enough distance that it is clear that she is different and clearly not human but we still manage to develop and emotional connection with her.

Garland’s direction of the film is terrific as well. His version of the future is perfectly realized. Like the tv show Black Mirror the future is different enough to be interesting but it seems close enough to also scare. Garlands direction is very clean and he perfectly orchestrates this atmosphere of creepiness and tension. His writing of the film is to be praised as well as he covers ever twist and turn and he brings humour to each scene  in order to breathe extra life into the film.

Ex_Machina is an interesting film that looks at humanity through the eyes of something un human discovering what it means to be human . The story grips like a vice. Garland shows himself as more than just a writer and the cast perfectly embody their characters. A magnificent piece of work. 

4.5/5 stars

(Also of note if you’ve seen the film and enjoyed it do check out under the skin http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441395/  one of the best films of last year that explores similar ideas)