Ex Machina (2015)

*** out of ****

Man has always had a fascination with reaching beyond his earthly capacity to try to achieve God-like abilities. And ever since Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein” we've seen the “man creates life" theme come up again and again in popular entertainment.  I personally find it a bit scary that man's technological ability has almost reach a point where it is no longer completely inconceivable because, at least in popular entertainment, man always forgets that the most powerful instinct of any living creature is to protect itself through whatever means necessary.

I think HAL2000 in “2001: A Space Odyssey” was the first time we saw in a movie a machine that was willing to kill so it could go on living. Since then we've seen it time and again through sci-fi like “The Terminator” and “The Matrix”. “Ex Machina” presents a similar, but much more intelligently presented, conundrum.... what do you do when the machine becomes self aware and feels the need to protect itself?

Oscar Isaac is Nathan Bateman, a reclusive billionaire that founded the world's most popular search engine (in the movie, that's Bluebook). He holds a corporation-wide contest for one employee to spend a week with him on his isolated estate – a contest that is won by programmer Caleb Smith (Tomhall Gleason). But it turns out that Nathan really wanted somebody to come to his home (which he lives in alone, and which is completely subterranean) to provide a critical eye to his newest creation, and artificial intelligence in the form of a robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander).

Ava is a ridiculously human-like robot. Yes, you can see through her clear exterior in parts to the fibreoptics and circuitry beneath, but she moves, acts and talks like a completely normal person. Caleb is to spend time with her to determine if she is actually self-aware or if she is simply appearing to be so as a result of her programming. But since she has never seen any other man beyond Nathan, her creator, she naturally feels compelled by Caleb, and due to her innocence and physical beauty Caleb also finds himself attracted to her. It's pretty freaky and intriguing at the same time.

Add to this the fact that Nathan is an abhorrent person, utterly self-centered and without empathy, and he views his creation as a “thing” not a “she”. Ava is his property, and he would think nothing of shutting her down to create a superior version. This leaves Caleb in the position of deciding if he should try to save her, or if he should simply go along with Nathan. But given that Ava suspects that her days are numbered if she stays, and she does have very human dreams and desires that she wants to fulfill, she hopes to find a way to escape her fate.

This film is interesting in that after the first few minutes there are basically only four performers in it. The sets are incredibly cold and sparse (probably representing the emptiness of Nathan's emotions) and each character is totally unlike any of the other characters. I can't single out a particular performance that shines, because all three of the primary actors (Gleason, Isaac and Vikander) are absolutely great.

The theme is very much like “Frankenstein” itself, as the creation becomes more and more self aware and more loathing of its creator. But unlike “Frankenstein”, which was meant to scare, this one is meant to provoke thought. As man becomes more and more technologically savvy, the odds of creating a computer that can think and reason is becoming more real. And do we really want to do that? What about when it wants to do something we don't want it to? Will we subjugate it and make it a slave?

Personally, I think some things are best left to God or nature (depending on your metaphysical viewpoint). “Ex Machina” explores these themes very effectively, and I was riveted throughout. Very highly recommended.