Ex Machina forecasts chilly future ahead if artificial intelligence becomes reality
REVIEW: Ex Machina is a searing slow-burner of a drama about technology and the point where the need to break the rules is overpowered by a desire to play God.
Leigh Paatsch
Don't miss out on the headlines from Leigh Paatsch. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Ex Machina (MA15+)
Director: Alex Garland (feature debut)
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Sonoya Mizuno.
Rating: ****
Journey along a code less travelled
Here we have a searing slow-burner of a drama about technology, innovation, and the point where the need to break the rules is overpowered by a desire to play God.
Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) stars as Nathan, a reclusive search-engine genius who has been holed up in his eco-friendly crash-pad in Alaska for years labouring away on his latest project.
Flouting every privacy law known to man, Nathan has taken the user data harvested by his company to implant a perfectly-programmed new strain of artificial intelligence inside eerily lifelike robots.
In the grand tradition of every mad, misguided scientist this side of Victor Frankenstein, Nathan’s brilliant mind and the groundbreaking experiment to which it has been applied are both destined to go increasingly haywire.
Particularly once a young coder named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) arrives to help Nathan complete the final phase of his research.
In the space of a week, Caleb has lost his heart to a beautiful new synthetic prototype known as Ava (Alicia Vikander).
Ava is far from the finished product Nathan has in mind for the marketplace.
The robot’s physical movements are not quite fluid enough to be passed off as human.
Furthermore, Ava’s midriff is a see-through plexiglas cavity, housing all of her chips and wiring.
(The special-effects that have been poured into the screen incarnation of Ava are incredible for what is a low-budget film by Hollywood standards.)
Nevertheless, to Caleb, Ava is the complete woman.
First-time director Alex Garland (a noted screenwriter and novelist) exerts a clinically conniving control over events in Ex Machina that captures the complete, undivided attention of his audience.
The three leads (particularly Isaac, a rapidly evolving talent) are equally effective at conveying the ethical perils posed by a future that could be closer than we are prepared to admit.
Ex Machina is now showing for an exclusive season at Cinema Nova (VIC), Dendy Newtown (NSW), Palace Centro (QLD), Palace Nova (SA), Dendy Canberra (ACT) and the Luna Leederville (WA).
For more reviews, news and pictures of all the latest movie releases, FOLLOW Leigh Paatsch on SOCIAL MEDIA by clicking on these links below:
Originally published as Ex Machina forecasts chilly future ahead if artificial intelligence becomes reality
Mad About the Boy is best Bridget Jones film since the first
Bridget Jones has lost a husband and gained a younger lover but Renee Zellweger brings heart and humour to Mad About the Boy in a return to form for the rom-com series, writes Leigh Paatsch.
Timely take on Munich Olympics terrorist crisis
The edge-of-your-seat factual drama September 5 takes viewers behind the scenes in one of the Olympic Games’ darkest hours with a message that still resonates today.