iTunes Delivers Another Great .99 Cent Movie Rental With "Ex Machina"

For me, one of the best things about iTunes isn't the free single of the week, because let's face it, much of the music being produced these days isn't that good.  Free or not.  My musical tastes are so erratic that finding something new that I might like is a complete challenge.  Thankfully, iTunes generally delivers unique films for .99 cents every Tuesday.

I neglected to review the brilliant Love and Mercy, I wasn't going to make the same mistake with the creepy and equally disturbing modern take on Frankenstein called Ex Machina.  Prior to renting the film, I'd never heard of it.  Until mid-2015, I was living in an isolated region where we would only get the most popular movies playing the area's theaters.  This is why iTunes is so important, at least for films and especially smaller independent or art house releases.   It's also worth noting that Ex Machina is director Alex Garland's directing debut and the end results seem far more suited for someone who has been calling the shots for years.



Ex Machina's beginning scenes reminded me in a way of the beginning of The Matrix.  Like Keanu Reeves' Neo, Domhnall Gleeson's Caleb Smith is a loner.  He works for a large company where he's a programmer and in the first few minutes of the movie, he wins a contest where the prize is to spend a week at the residence of his elusive boss, Nathan Bateman, played disturbingly by Oscar Isaac.  Both Neo and Smith weren't sure what they were in for but the difference between the two is that in Ex Machina the story is told at a somewhat slower pace and that allows for all sorts of weird and creepy things to unfold keeping the viewer guessing because even when you think you know, you really don't.

(Domhnall Gleeson "Caleb Smith", Alicia Vikander "Ava", Oscar Isaac "Nathan Bateman")

Aside from the initial opening scene in the office where Smith wins the contest where his co-workers congratulate him and the helicopter pilot who transports him to the beautiful area where Bateman's complex is, the film focuses on Gleeson's Smith, Bateman, Ava played by the alluring Alicia Vikander and the silent Kyoko brilliantly played by Sonoya Mizuno.

Caleb is dropped off literally in the middle of nowhere and once the helicopter leaves and flies off into the sky, he realizes this trip may not be all that it's cracked up to be.  He makes his way to Bateman's impressive compound and even though there's no one really there except for Caleb, Bateman, Kyoko and Ava, there's enough security set in place to protect a president or more appropriately, a dictator.  Caleb is even given a key card upon arrival, automatically by a computer of course, to allow him to enter the house and some of the rooms inside, including his bedroom.  Bateman was a programming prodigy and he's had a very interestingly modern yet weird compound.    Caleb has some initial claustrophobic feelings as it's explained to him his room is underground and there are no windows, just a television, but the only program he can watch is the live feed of Ava in her room of glass windows.

(Ava and Caleb during one of the Turing test scenes)

Upon the initial meeting between Ava and Caleb, Bateman explains that he built her and that she's A.I. (artificial intelligence) but that she can think, she can reason and she can ask questions.   Caleb learns that Bateman's motives for holding the contest wasn't to simply meet one of his employees, but it's for Caleb to administer Ava a Turing test.  In the most general terms, Caleb must monitor how Ava thinks, feels and reasons.  At one point he is under the impression that she likes him.  Ava has even been able to manipulate the electrical system in the compound to her advantage, even being able to knock out the Big Brother-esque security camera system throughout for a few moments of time.  This little bit of trickery enables her to get Caleb to truly trust her.    Even though she's a machine, she wears familiar human clothes when she's speaking to Caleb and the loner that he is, starts to fall for her forgetting she was created by a maniac who believes he has god-like qualities.   Caleb's downfall begins when he starts to trust and believe Ava over her excessively and intense creator Bateman.  Bateman is also a drunk which lends itself to the plot but without giving too much away, he catches on to the plan these two have hatched.

(Bateman explaining how he created Ava)

Through all of this Kyoko remains silent as she cannot speak but Mizuno plays her in such a way that words aren't needed.  She's a prisoner and her eyes say everything that words could convey, possibly even more.  At one point, Caleb realize Kyoko is also A.I. as well essentially a slave to Bateman's whim.  Her situation is certainly tragic and the private moment shared between Caleb and Kyoko is sad and creepy as it is revealing the true character of Bateman.  He's an insane genius living in isolation for his own good and the good of society.

(Kyoko and Ava communicating)

The ending was set to be rather predictable, but instead of following the typical formula that would leave the viewer disappointed, you feel two things:  satisfaction that Ava's wish is fulfilled and frustration because Caleb isn't as lucky.

I watched intently throughout and was completely engrossed in this film.  Interestingly filming involved zero special effects, they were all added in post production, so that means there was no green screen and no Gollum-like characters on the screen at any time.  Everything was shot as live action and scenes with Ava were shot twice, with Vikander and without.  This enabled the filmmakers to place her into scenes as the backgrounds and setting were essential to the story.  This technique is certainly something that made you feel as if she was really an operating machine with human features.  Good decision for all involved.

(Ava with Kyoko in the background)

Ex Machina was garnered many accolades and it's easy to see why.  In many ways it's reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Altered States or even Alien as far as character development coupled with the sense of isolation is concerned.  It's disturbing, creepy and one fine motion picture.  They even used over 1,000 particular light bulbs to avoid stereotypical sci-fi florescent lighting.  Special mention needs to be made of the score and soundtrack as the music used and composed for the film was perfect.

Ex Machina (2015) is available now on digital and Blu-Ray platforms.

Writer and Director:  Alex Garland
Starring:  Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno

Highly recommended:

5 vegan donuts out 5