Ex Machina (2015)

Directed by: Alex Garland
Country: UK

Movie Review: Novelist-turned-director, Alex Garland, has a fantastic debut with “Ex Machina”, an unfussy offbeat sci-fi thriller whose special effects, in its simple and efficacious forms, are much more attractive than the mostly high-budgeted films within the same genre. Mr. Garland categorically solidifies his tendency for inventive screenwriting, and with this penetrating robotic adventure overcomes his past written compositions, such as “28 Days Later” “Dredd”, “Never Let Me Go” and “Sunshine”. The story brings a dedicated young programmer, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), to an isolated house in the mountains (only accessible by helicopter) where he’s going to evaluate an imprisoned, sophisticated android, Ava (Alicia Vikander), which according to its creator, is capable to feel and respond to real emotions. The creator and host, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a muscle builder with increasing alcohol problems, built up a dwelling house whose high security is vulnerable to occasional power outages. The super advanced Ava takes advantage of these few minutes to manipulate the fascinated Caleb and set him against the apparently not so artless inventor. What does she intend to? At this point, everything is shrouded in a disquieting enigma, and even if the story can be partly predictable in its conclusions (it was for me), the film works well, flowing at a steady pace and extracting a disturbing chilliness from each action. Quietly, it gets into your mind, producing cold sweats with its emotionless stabs, and then sliding into your senses with an ending that confronts freedom and claustrophobia. Super performances and a praiseworthy direction, were key to turning “Ex Machina” into an accomplished work. The sensual robots bestow a nice touch.