Alex Garland’s sleek science fiction thriller, Ex Machina, delves into the futuristic world of super-advanced artificial intelligence. Scheduled to open in Canada on April 24, it’s an eerie, compelling film replete with state-of-the-art technology and rife with plot twists.
Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a hot shot 26-year-old coder employed by an internet search engine company, wins a contest to spend a week with its eccentric and reclusive founder and chief executive officer, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), who lives in an ultra-modern, antiseptic house tucked into a remote canyon.
Caleb, a tall, lanky fellow, is flown to Nathan’s home aboard a helicopter. As he looks down on Nathan’s property of endless icefields and forests, the pilot tells him they’ve been flying over it for the past two-and-a-half hours.
Nathan, remote yet friendly, describes his home as a research facility. Much of it is subterranean, windowless and claustrophobic. Some parts look out into woods and offer somber views of fog-shrouded mountains and streams. Nearby is a cascading waterfall that would not be out of place in National Geographic.
The scenery is spectacular, but Nathan hardly has the time to enjoy it. A brilliant scientist, he’s developed a robot with artificial intelligence and consciousness who looks and talks remarkably like a normal human being. Her name is Ava (Alicia Vikander) and she’s quite attractive. Caleb’s task is to befriend Ava and turn in a report on her mental abilities and emotional intelligence.
A cerebral geek to the marrow of his bones, Caleb is thrilled to have been handed such a plum assignment. After his first of five sessions with Ava, Caleb waxes enthusiastic. “Oh, man, she’s fascinating,” he says. “She’s fucking amazing,” he adds.
As Caleb and Ava draw each other out in a kind of cat-and-mouse conversational game, she cuts to the chase: “Do you want to be my friend?” Satisfied with his reply, she asks him to talk about himself. As he discovers, she’s a shrewd judge of character. During one of the frequent power outages, she warns Caleb that Nathan is not a person to be trusted.
Garland creates a fraught atmosphere through increasingly tense interactions between Caleb and Nathan, impressive special effects and a jangling electronic musical score. The juxtaposition between Nathan’s clinical facility and the wild, unspoiled beauty of the surroundings is striking.
After a while, it’s abundantly clear that Ava has a crush on Caleb. To please him, she dons a dress, a sweater and a pair of stockings. “How do I look? she asks. “You look good,” he replies. When Ava wonders whether he’s attracted to her, he seems uncomfortable.
Nathan, played superbly by Isaac, informs Caleb that Ava was built and programmed to be heterosexual. This information appears to unsettle Caleb, whom Gleeson portrays with panache.
If Caleb still has any doubts about Ava’s capacity to behave like a true human being, they are dispelled in their final session. Ava, whom Vikander plays with ease and grace, poses a series of questions for Caleb to answer. Although she detects his evasions and lies, she’s not in the least upset. Indeed, Ava’s interest in Caleb has grown to the point where she provocatively asks, “Do you want to be with me?”
By now, Caleb is utterly convinced of Nathan’s genius. He’s created a creature, a humanoid, who’s uncannily human. But has he crossed a red line? Has he manufactured a Frankenstein who will devour them?
That’s the question that lingers menacingly over Ex Machina, a movie of uncommon originality.