The deciding factor of whether or not Ex Machina works as a movie comes down to the way that its screenplay is structured. It has a screenplay that, for the most part, proposes ideas, and leaves the actors to fill in the spaces. The complications of the characters, their personalities...how far they will go, is all left to the actors. That's quite a tightrope to walk. On one hand it could all pan out, and the actors and script easily blend into engaging sci-fi, or it could be a train wreck that digs itself into a hole it can't get out of. If you've read any reviews on this film you know it's the former. Ex Machina is about a simple programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), in a company who is being hired to spend a week with the companies creator, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), in a secret facility. Why it is a secret is soon revealed. Nathan has been hiding Ava (Alicia Vikander), an artificially intelligent being in the facility, and has been testing her. He needs Caleb to complete the final part of testing, which involves Caleb testing Ava through conversation. I will not give anything else away, but this all progresses in ways I didn't even expect, right down to a terrifying conclusion. Again, the screenplay is based much more on idea than anything else. Though, this doesn't mean that the conversations between Caleb and Ava are not interesting. The ideas at play here are amazing (again nothing I will spoil), but the film gets you thinking in the way that a classic sci-fi like Blade Runner or 2001 has you thinking. It also helps that each actor is really exploring their characters. Gleenson is incredible, and he creates a character almost out of thin air. Vikander also deserves some recognition because she strikes a great balance between being quite cold, and still empathetic. But overall, the best performance from the film that there is Oscar Isaac. Sure he is the most written in character in the movie, getting both hilarious, and serious lines to dish out. Isaac, as usual, is incredibly convincing, and you can slowly realize the reasons why an anti social insanity has hit him. It's engaging work. Also, I'd like to give a special mention to the technical work for the surprisingly effective lighting. I won't go into that too much, but when the lights turn red, you'll know what I'm talking about. Actually, I think the only place Ex Machina stumbles is in overall tone. That may seem like a big thing, but I don't mean that it's fluctuating or so. The film, I feel, is a little too subtle to fully allow the audience to feel the emotion they should at specific parts. It's all about the acting, and if you're not paying attention, you might miss some of the ways the ideas tie into everything else. Overall Ex Machina is an engaging, if not as accessible science fiction, that is a great directorial debut for Alex Garland. I give Ex Machina a 9.5 out of 10. Written by Stephen Tronicek, Edited by Mia Rintoul
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |