Ex Machina (2014)

Movie Info :

Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller, EX MACHINA. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company's brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test-charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan's latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated--and more deceptive--than the two men could have imagined.

Critics Rating and Audience Score :

Tomatometer

92%

Flixter Score

86%

IMDB

7.7

My Review :

Ex Machina is one of those movies that you need to watch twice in order to completely appreciate it's excellence and to consider it from both main characters perspectives. Caleb Smith, played by Domhnall Gleeson, wins a competition to stay at the Ceo's luxurious, isolated home only to find that he will be testing the capabilities of an AI, Ava, played by Alicia Vikander. All of the actors are excellent but Alicia Vikander is particularly captivating as Ava, putting in a multi-layered performance with an otherworldly air to it. The setting is quite claustrophobic at times and really adds to the tension and the intensity between the characters. With such an isolated setting and a very small cast of only 3 or 4 main characters, the performances and the twists and turns of the story are what really hold your attention and get you invested in the story and that is not an easy task. A very beautiful, thoughtful film with a fresh look at AI.