EX MACHINA
A24/ Universal Pictures
Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes.
Grade: A-
Director: Alex Garland
Screenwriter:  Alex Garland
Cast:  Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Sonoya Mizuno, Claire Selby, Symara A. Templeman
Screened at: Regal Union Square, NYC, 5/9/15
Opens:  April 24, 2015

If you’re into theater, you’ll know that a deus ex machine is “a god from the machine,” and is a plot device uses when a writer is painted into a corner and does not know how to end the play.  The writer then uses a contrived solution, such as Euripides used in Medea, when the title character, about to be caught for murdering her two children, is saved when the sun god sends a chariot driven by a dragon to escort Medea to safety in Athens.  Alex Garland does not have to use a contrived ending in “Ex Machina,” however, and in a sense it is constructed better than Medea!  In this mature-adult, thoughtful sci-fi film—no worms coming out of stomachs, no dragons or apes eating planes—a scientist, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), has built a female robot with artificial intelligence.  He recruits a member of his company, young Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), to visit his posh mountain headquarters to test the robot, which is named Ava (we’re told that a live actress, Alicia Vikander, plays the part).

Garland, who both wrote and directs this meditation on AI employs a trio of principals who appear to have gotten to know one another so well that they keep the screen vibrating with tension.  And their deck is stacked.  While it’s true that young Caleb is really needed to test the level of intelligence in Ava, Nathan is interested in something deeper, which becomes known to the audience as a series of twists unfold organically and credibly.

The principal focus is on Caleb, played by Domhnall Gleeson (son of Brendan Gleeson), who writes code for a Google-type organization known as Blue Book.  When he learns that he has won a lottery organized by his boss, he is applauded and congratulated by the whole team, flown by chopper to a mountain retreat that not even the pilot is allowed to get too near, and begins to bond with Nathan (Oscar Isaac).  Nathan is the kind of person that you’d expect Google to recruit.  He is independently wealthy, the brilliant creator of a robot with AI, and he is not opposed to going on a bender with beer and vodka, especially if he is trying to get to know his recruit.   In fact when Caleb first sees Nathan, the boss is working out vigorously to compensate for the previous night’s binging.

Caleb is introduced to Ava, who looks human except for the metal limbs. She is in fact the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who can probably get a man to fall in love with her given her perfect figure, her graceful steps which appear to evoke “finishing school,” and her flirtatious ways.  As Caleb and Ava bond, Nathan observes.  From time to time Ava shuts off the power to discuss her views about her creator, warning that he is not to be trusted.  As we learn later, neither Ava nor Caleb can be trusted, nor can another figure, Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno), who livens the action with a love of dancing.

The three principals, then, have their motivations.  Nathan needs to test the AI of his robot.  Caleb needs the glory of being the first to administer the testing.  Ava needs…well, does a robot really need anything?  Oh yes she does, and ultimately it is her motivation that provides a brilliant conclusion to a beautifully constructed piece of science fiction.

Rated R.  108 minutes.  © Harvey Karten, Member, New York Film Critics Online

Story – A-
Acting – A
Technical – A-
Overall – A-