Ex Machina Review: A Must-See Underdog with Robots

Ex Machina is an edge-of-your-seat Sci-Fi/Drama that will have you wanting it to be a longer film – forget the parking tickets.

Thanks to beautiful cinematography and a lush soundtrack, it’s got a feeling of uniqueness many films strive for, but can never find.

Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a young IT employee, wins a week-long trip to stay with Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), the owner of a Google-esque company, Blue Book. Caleb ends up running a series of verbal tests on Nathan’s A.I. Ava (Alicia Vikander) to see if she has consciousness or not.

Written and directed by Alex Garland (Dredd, 28 Days Later), the film begins in the Blue Book office when suddenly an alert pops up that Caleb has been randomly selected to meet and stay with Nathan Bateman.

The only way to get to and from Nathan Bateman’s compound is via helicopter. Caleb is dropped off in a gorgeous, green field and told that he has to walk up the trail as the pilot is not permitted to go any further.

Caleb arrives at the compound, an absurdly aesthetically pleasing, not-so-far-away-from-possible dream home made of steel, stone and thick glass. The entire place is an astonishing sight, every door requires an identification card and otherwise the door just will not open. If you take a look at your home or your dream home for that matter, you may consider burning them to the ground out of embarrassment. It’s that good. Just about the entire film takes place in or outside of the compound, and there is no complaint about it.

Caleb and Nathan meet, Caleb comes off as meek and innocent, and Nathan projects swagger and arguably a drinking problem. Nathan reveals to Caleb that he was not just randomly selected, but handpicked by Nathan.

Throughout the early going, Nathan does his best to pull off a buddy vibe with Caleb, but you can feel that there’s something about Nathan, that he’s shady in a sense. Almost as though he’s an evil villain but with flip flops.

When Caleb goes to meet Ava finally, he is in a glass box that pokes into Ava’s room.

Ava and Caleb meeting for the first time is beautiful – between the soundtrack and the grace that Vikander has and the way it’s shot, you start to look forward to the rest of the film. Ironically, Caleb’s first interaction with Ava is so robotic in nature, whereas Ava seems more human vocally and in motion.

The entire soundtrack to the film is very melodic and ominous when it needs to be, extremely compelling regardless – nothing but praise for Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury.

Overall, scene by scene, “Ex Machina” is shot beautifully within its 108 minutes and eventually takes you back to your regular place of residence so you can continue to dream about the flawless piece of art that is Nathan Bateman’s home.

There’s even a dance sequence in the middle of the film between Nathan Bateman and Kyoko, Bateman’s maid, that goes on for a little bit longer than you would expect- if you were even expecting it in the first place. It follows a quick dialogue between Caleb and Nathan. Caleb asks Nathan why he had torn up a picture Ava made. Nathan replies with “I’m gonna tear up the fuckin’ dance floor, dude. Check it out.”