‘If we believe Ava is alive, will she be allowed to live that life on her own terms?’ … Alicia Vikander as Ava in Ex Machina.‘If we believe Ava is alive, will she be allowed to live that life on her own terms?’ … Alicia Vikander as Ava in Ex Machina.lex Garland’s next film, Men, is due for release in June.
Caleb wins a competition at his workplace to visit the home of the company’s reclusive CEO, Nathan . Caleb travels to his vast and remote Norwegian estate and, upon arrival, discovers the contest was a smokescreen. Identified as a gifted employee, Caleb has been summoned to work on Nathan’s latest project: an artificial intelligence named Ava . It is Caleb’s job to administer the Turing Test , to determine whether Ava has genuine consciousness.
But Ex Machina is still, at heart, a paranoid thriller and the three central performances from Vikander, Gleeson and Isaac make the story just as absorbing as the questions it asks. They inhabit these conflicting, manipulative personalities so completely, we’re never quite sure of the truth – or whose truth – to believe.
Nathan is initially welcoming, but despite his pleas for Caleb to ignore the employer-employee dynamic, Caleb is always aware of the power disparity between them. Isolated by both his wealth and geographical location, his only company in his vast tech facility is his housekeeper, Kyoko , who does not speak English; a paranoid safeguard for Nathan’s trade secrets. His darker side emerges: he drinks heavily, becomes aggressive and is prone to the bouts of egotism.
The score, from Geoff Barrow of Portishead and Ben Salisbury, adds an extra dimension as an ambient sonic atmosphere crafted to match the dark, labyrinthine corridors of the tech facility and the sweeping panoramas of the Norwegian countryside. Garland’s career as a novelist means he knows how to tell a good story and Ex Machina is an accomplished thriller. But like the very best science fiction, its big ideas are only partially contained by the script.