By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Alex Garland
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2015
Running time: 106
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752
Kyle says: “When a robot referred to clinically as the A.I., or Ava (Alicia Vikander), tells Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) that her maker Nathan (Oscar Isaac) is ‘not your friend’ during a power outage, we expect him to pay close attention, because we already know from excessively casual insistence on being just two dudes hanging out and drinking too much beer, and his sharp interrogations of Caleb on programming issues, that something else is going on. He is not allowed to make telephone calls or go to areas where he does not have recognition code admission. Caleb has ostensibly won a contest to spend time with the CEO of the world’s largest search engine, but learns that he has actually been summoned to consult on matters related to how close the consciousness of a female robot comes to that of a human being. In a claustrophobic but clinically ‘perfect’ environment that feels more like Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit than Bill Gates’ Xanadu 2.0, so called after CITIZEN KANE, things do not go as planned by either Nathan or Caleb. Remember that ‘EX’ means not only ‘out of’ and ‘from’ but also ‘beyond’.
“Writer/Director Alex Garland must be credited for an interesting and surprising take on the conversation regarding robot perfection vs. human redundancy, but the basic idea could be the theme of a very lengthy retrospective, from Gort being stopped by Patricia Neal from destroying the world in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951), to Robbie the Robot making expensive bourbon and sexy swimming suits in FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956), to computers in the U.S. and U.S.S.R. eliminating humans from control and taking over in COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970), to being our friends in STAR WARS (1977) and our enemies in BLADE RUNNER (1982), to more recent and heated explorations such as A.I. (2001), I ROBOT (2004) and HER (2013). Viewers may also recall the appearance of Arthur C. Clarke at the start of Danny Boyle’s STEVE JOBS (2015), reminding us again that 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) remains the greatest science fiction film ever made, and that Clarke is a true prophet. Garland avoids most of the sameness of the robot genre even as we ask questions about inconsistencies between what characters say and what they do.
“EX MACHINA is highly respected among sci fi fans and therefore warmly recommended to them. For those of us who ask for something else, there is further proof that Domhnall Gleeson, son of the great Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, has become one of the finest young actors in films. So versatile is he that this writer, who regards his performances iNEVER LET ME GO, ANNA KARENINA, ABOUT TIME (2013), and FRANK as highlights of those titles, did not recognize him in the current BROOKLYN (2015). He will next be seen in STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Oscar Isaac, also a gifted actor whose recent performances in INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS and A MOST VIOLENT YEAR are the major reasons to see those films, will also be seen in the aforementioned STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS in December. 3.5 cats
“Friday, October 30, 2015, on Netflix DVD, New York”