‘EX’-TRA SMART
‘Ex Machina” shows there’s still life left in tales of artificial intelligence.
This exquisitely acted, genuinely creepy minimalist drama does spin its wheels a bit before a cool conclusion. But the movie has a spark of creativity not seen in “Chappie” or “Eva,” two recent, less-evolved robots-among-us flicks.
In the near future, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a nerdy programmer at a huge Apple-like corporation. He wins a lottery to spend a week at the sprawling estate of his company’s mysterious owner, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). The compound is someplace seemingly surrounded by melting glaciers.
When Caleb arrives, he has a task: to converse with a robotic woman Nathan built to see if she has achieved artificial intelligence. The robot, called Ava, never leaves the room she’s in. As she and Caleb do “testing sessions,” disturbing things come to light about Nathan’s bro-bud persona, his isolated house and hat may await melancholy Ava.
“Ex Machina” is written and directed by novelist Alex Garland, whose sterling genre work includes the screenplays for “28 Days Later” and “Never Let Me Go.” Though crucial details are deliberately withheld, we recognize Caleb and Nathan, seeing ourselves in one while mesmerized by the other. This movie’s fluid, forlorn sense of identity most recalls “Moon,” with a dash of “Forbidden Planet” thrown in.
Gleeson’s vulnerability slides away as he becomes aware of what he’s stumbled into. Isaac (“Inside Llewyn Davis,” “A Most Violent Year”) makes Nathan cagey, creepy and funny-cocky cool; he’s okay being casually sociopathic. Both actors are in the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode VII,” and whet our appetite here.
As the synthetic creation, Alicia Vikander is terrifically remote, soulful and still, like the film itself. We see her character’s electrodes, but even more evident is the pain, anger and, maybe, deception on her flesh-mask face. The power in this intriguing film is not seeing how machine-like she is, but how across-the-board human she’s willing to become.