Ex_Machina
Review – Ben field
Science
fiction has explored the reality of what it is to be human? This philosophical
question has been interpreted through non-human figures. For instance: ”E.T the
extra-terrestrial” and “Avatar”. Films such as “Terminator” explores the
daunting reality that A.I (Artificial Intelligence) can be considered to be a
person. In 2015, Alex Garland has blessed us with his stunning debut of his
directorial film Ex_Machina. Alex Garland’s work as a screenwriter consists of
“28 days later,” “Never Let Me Go” and “Dredd”. Garland’s film features
Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac, alongside a number of actors including Alicia
Vikander who has appeared in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” and the 2016 film “Jason
Bourne”. Domhnall plays Caleb, a young coder in a huge software company who
wins a prize to spend a week with the owner, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). Whilst at
his residents, Caleb discovers Nathan has been working on an A.I robot and
Caleb is to test the significance of its abilities. Upon greeting, the robot
turns out to be an alluring female machine called Ava (Alicia Vikander).
Hidden
away in his luxurious built in mountain house, Nathan has constructed a whole
series of female artificial intelligent robots, each more sophisticated than
the last. Caleb – a young coder – is instructed to test Ava’s capability of
being human with Nathan watching their every move. Caleb’s and Nathans
friendship has been awkward from the get go, but gets even more intense when
Caleb grows a hidden attachment for the machine and false informs Nathan about
Ava’s warning about trusting him. Initially, Nathan comes across as this
“hip-hop”, cliché wonder kid who seems to be isolated in his own realm. He
ambles around his accommodation barefoot, wearing jogging bottoms and a t-shirt,
referring to Caleb as ‘Dude’. Beneath his “cool” exterior, he is a man of great
intelligence and dominates everyone around him. He undertakes gym sessions to a
punching bag and weights, but has a drinking problem he can’t control.
Nathan
and Caleb touch upon a key point when they refer to the glamorous, distractive
magician’s assistant. As we watch an inexperienced man’s feeling grow over a
course of a week for an attractive AI, the viewers are asked to examine the
moral and ethical issues surrounding human interaction with AI. We, as the
audience are distracted with the arguments and counter-arguments by the two
men, that we fail to comprehend Nathans achievements. The cocooning of the neglected issue that ava
is a world phenomenon and is only though about in an “intimate” relation is a
clever concept that Garland has systematically placed in the film. Nathan
relishes taunting Caleb over his growing attraction towards the erotic
appearance of the android.
The
instrumental music composers Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury favoured the
audience with his array of deep and intense tones. Caleb and Ava’s
confrontation was intense, but also a special moment for both of them. The acoustic
and melodic meeting was intense for the viewer but topped off with the
background soundtrack with a deep and flat tone. The shallow harmonica of the
constant beat during Caleb and the android’s confrontation shows there is a barrier
between the emotions of humans and android.
Whilst
viewing Ex_Machina, I realised there are moral and ethical issues surrounding
the way Nathan and Caleb and think of AI. On one hand, we have someone who
views them as a human figure, where on the other, they are seen and wires and
code which can be used as a pleasure tool with their “pleasure centre”. This
shapes a mould around the characters as selfish and self-centred, introducing
the type of people Caleb and Nathan are. This revealed to me that Nathan is an
unforgiving character but also manipulates those around him into doing his
bidding. The ongoing power play between Nathan is profound but he insists he
wants to be “just another guy”, sympathetically enforcing he isn’t evil or
cruel, just misunderstood. This scene hit hard to the audience, but exaggerated
how much power was over Caleb and over the audience.
The
star of the of the show was undoubtedly Alicia Vikander. Her stunning
performance as Ava places her in the centre of Sci-Fi’s best artificial female
character. Her training as a ballerina is shown in her slight glances and
gestures. The sound effects whilst adjusting her stance was effective to
differentiate the humans from android. Personally, this slight effect really
sealed the deal on the authenticity of the robot. This enchanting Science
fiction film is bewitching and smart. The intelligence from a first time
director is nothing to be put off by as the brilliance off the film is
insightful and intuitive.
