When I heard the title of the movie I was about to see, a tiny particle of familiarity started nudging its way through my brain. Too impatient to wait for the natural processes of recall, I did what I always do on such occasions: turned to Google. My search terms: 'Ex Machina'.
Jolted by the wonders of modern technology, my memory finally caught up and joined in the action. During my time in acting college, I had learned all about deus ex machina when we studied Greek theatre: 'God from the machine’. So, with God neatly cut out, the film title translates literally to ‘from the machine’. And that is exactly where we start our journey: inside a machine.
Gazing out at the world from the wrong side of a computer screen, the human in front of us discovers he has won some sort of lottery. Nothing is explained, no details given. Rather, we are abruptly transported with this human, via helicopter, through spectacular scenery to the secluded bungalow of the enigmatic CEO of his company.
'Ex Machina' refuses to waste any time giving you information you don’t need. The plot is already well underway within the first few minutes with exactly zero time spent on backstories. From snatched glances at texts, snippets of conversation and observation of his accessories, we’re able to glean that the aforementioned human’s name is Caleb, he works for a company called Bluebook and he has won a week doing something even Caleb doesn’t know yet, with Bluebooks CEO Nathan.I get flashbacks to my days of playing games like 'Metal Gear Solid' and 'The Pandora Directive'. This movie is a puzzle to be solved. That being the case, I don’t want to get too detailed about the plot. So much of the enjoyment of 'Ex Machina' comes from piecing together the little scraps of information you’re given and trying to decipher what’s going on and who’s scamming who.
What I will tell you is that Nathan has developed a superior form of A.I. and Caleb has been brought to his research facility to test it. Housed in a delicate feminine form, Nathan’s creation has all the allure of a beautiful woman while still openly displaying its (or should I say her) android nature.
Ava moves with a quiet grace, the precision of which is altogether disquieting. With each repositioning of her parts, a hum of gentle, feather-light mechanical sounds emanate from her. There is a definite human quality in there, but the staccato tick of her shifting expressions and the precision of every movement belie the A.I. underneath. Similarly, her face, hands and feet are indistinguishable from a human’s but her torso, arms and legs reveal her manufactured soul. Her range of expressions are small but this means even the slightest change is noticeable. It’s an old technique, originating in Japanese Kabuki theatre, but made Hollywood-famous by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry.
On a face that favours blank stillness, the tiniest downturn of the mouth makes you feel as if it is expressing deep sorrow. Whether it truly is or not is another question altogether. And so, as you try to work out what’s going on beneath her skin, Ava gets under yours.
Straight back on Google after the film and I discovered, with not a hint of surprise, the actress who played Ava (Alicia Vikander) is a former ballerina. The discipline, precision and control required for ballet gave Vikander the perfect skills to create a believable machine with her human form. There’s a lovely irony in the fact that the film explores whether an A.I. can create a convincing human by having a human do the exact opposite thing.
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In stark contrast to Ava’s quiet grace, her creator, Nathan, is bullish and aggressive. A reclusive narcissist, Nathan has a penchant for booze and mind games. He is an ever moving enigma, an emotional chameleon: funny and engaging one moment, stone cold and a little bit scary the next. In one particular scene he is everything all at once. Reminiscent of Michael C Hall’s creepy-as-a-ghost-with-tentacles dance scene in ‘Gamer’, Nathan busts out a perfectly choreographed, horrifically cheesy disco dance scene that strikes a bizarre balance between being hilarious and terrifying.
While it is a tense thriller, 'Ex Machina' is peppered throughout with humour. This is an ancient technique (once again originating in Greek theatre) and one that will never age. The laughs allow a slight release of tension, keeping you comfortable and engaged and allowing you to connect with the characters. And, having had a momentary respite, when the tension returns, it is each time somehow heightened.
'Ex Machina' gets you questioning right from the start; not just about what’s going on in the movie but about the connections to your life outside the cinema walls. Mere moments before the movie started I had been exploring my thought patterns through Google. It’s all too easy with a search engine to think you are gaining the information from them. That’s what the whole structure suggests. But more and more we’re discovering just how much information we give away about ourselves with our search engine activity.
You’ve most likely seen ‘Google’s plan for world domination’ (if you haven’t its worth a watch) and I’m sure you’ve all wondered what they’re doing with all the information we’re inputting. 'Ex Machina' plays out one of the possibilities, with such style, precision and quiet horror, you will find it seeping back into your brain for days, maybe weeks, to come.
'Ex Machina' is in cinemas 7 May.
