Ex Machina

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Alex Garland/Starring: Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Sonoya Mizuno

Alex Garland, known primarily for his novels and screen adaptations, can now add the title of director to his impressive resume. His new film Ex Machina is ferociously intelligent, spellbinding and addresses the subject of artificial intelligence in a new, thoughtfully imaginative way. But is Garland's story also some kind of feminist commentary on male dominance and the maligned "male gaze?" Given the story and symbolism, the question is worth exploring.

The film's emotional default setting is something between dread and paranoia, which is understandable; Garland shows us what may be mankind's imminent future and what we see is quite disquieting.

He doesn't waste a nano-second immersing us in the story. We see Caleb Smith (an excellent Domhnall Gleeson); a coder for a prestigious computer company, who wins an inter-employee contest. The prize; a chance to visit and work with the company founder and genius Norman Bateman (Oscar Isaac, also excellent) in his remote, free-from-civilization compound in an undisclosed location.

Accessible only by helicopter, Caleb is dropped off in a meadow and asked to follow a stream where he finds Bateman's seemingly modest, rustic hideaway, which is nestled in a woodsy area between green rolling hills and crags in what appears to be Greenland. It is clear he intends to keep his whereabouts hidden from the world's prying eyes.

Caleb enters the building after no-one greets him at the door. He wanders inside the ultra-modern, glass and concrete interior to find Norman, working out. Norman greets Caleb and tries to set him at ease, knowing full well his Bill Gates-like fame might be off-putting to the young man.

It isn't long before Norman shows off his high-tech domicile, in which he seems to be the lone occupant. He explains to Caleb isn't a home at all but a research facility, where his top-secret work in artificial intelligence is conducted. Before Norman can divulge his research, he presents Caleb with a confidentiality agreement. Caleb refuses at first to sign, citing his need to have a lawyer present but Norman reminds him that leaving would mean missing out on something revolutionary. Excited and intrigued, Caleb relents.

As a prelude to revealing his work, Norman asks Caleb if he is aware of the Turing Test. After answering in the affirmative, he is asked to explain it. As exposition and for the audience's benefit, Caleb identifies the test devised by famed computer pioneer Alan Turing in which an interviewer poses a series of questions to two, unseen interviewees, one of which is a computer. Based on the responses, the interviewer then determines which subject is the computer. If the interviewer fails to distinguish the computer from the human, the computer can be said to have passed the test (I hope I got this reasonably right).

Norman then shows Caleb his creation; an android-like entity with advanced artificial intelligence that wears a human face, a transparent skull, torso and appendages named Ava. Dazzled by Norman's work, Caleb gazes at Ava in awe while she stares back.

The film is divided into sessions; subtitled onscreen as Ava 1, Ava 2, etc., and serve as chapters in the narrative. Caleb beings to apply the Turing test in his conversations with Ava. Because Norman created Ava with a pretty face and a shapely, synthetic female figure, a sexual dimension is introduced into the proceedings. Whether it is part of a deliberate attempt to distract Caleb while the test is conducted is a concern he voices early.

Caleb discovers Ava has charm and a sense of humor. Before long, a mutual attraction forms though Caleb is suspicious of its sincerity; believing Ava's attraction to him could have been part of Norman's programming.

As the testing continues, a sense of mistrust begins to seep into Norman and Caleb's working relationship. Caleb also becomes aware of a more disturbing side of Norman's life in his lab. When Norman isn't monitoring all interaction between Caleb and Ava with a Big Brother intensity, he is found mostly working out and getting drunk. Caleb also notices a beautiful woman he hadn't seen before named Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno) who serves as Norman's assistant. Norman warns Caleb that any attempt at conversation with Kyoko is futile. He explains her inability to speak English as a theft preventative; an indispensable quality for his top-secret research. But Caleb notices Norman's cruel treatment of Kyoko and her odd stoicism in the face of verbal abuse.

The audience is always well aware that something is not quite right in Norman's well-surveilled environment. And as Caleb becomes more attracted to Ava, he becomes sympathetic to her passion to see the outside world and escape from the cold concrete and glass environs. During the center's frequent power outages, which Ava says she controls, Caleb hatches a plan for their escape. The plan involves getting Norman drunk and incapacitated then stealing his pass card, which allows him access to all restricted areas. Caleb then plans to reprogram the security system, which would allow all doors in the laboratory to open, thus freeing Ava (and himself).

In gaining entry to Norman's inner sanctum and computer, Caleb makes another disturbing discovery, one that causes him to question his own identity, which leads to a frightening moment of self-doubt and examination. The scene is one of the best in the film.

How the drama between Norman, Caleb and Ava plays out is a surprise and how one sees the outcome, whether as tragic or exhilaratingly liberating, depends solely on where one's sympathies lie.

Garland's script is smart, as are his characters, who are in a constant mental state of parrying and thrust.

Oscar Isaac has proven to be the new, prodigious talent in American acting and his performance as a paranoiac who is too brilliant and not brilliant enough for his own good is yet another marvelous tour de force. When Norman tells Caleb that artificial life may look back on humanity a few million years hence, the way we look upon our distant, arboreal ancestors, Isaac delivers his lines with such chilling futility. The statement is powerful and ominous. Gleeson is outstanding as a would-be dupe who proves to have sharp mental resources of his own. Vikander is mostly denied the use of her body in her performance; her lovely face becomes the focus of her expression, which carries both innocence and cunning.

Garland, though making his directorial debut, shows remarkable skill with a camera and demonstrates an instinctual feel for creating mood and tension. The film's foreboding score also helps keep us on edge and alert to sinister developments.

Artificial intelligence is the subject of the film but it appears Garland is also using it to tell an allegorical story about female debasement. Along with Ava, Caleb finds other prototypes, who are all female in appearance and all sexualized in one manner or another. It is telling that none of the artificial life forms are male.

I think Garland's film is one of first great films of the year. It is intelligent, riveting, thought-provoking and has an appropriate and touching ending. The film has much on its mind, which is good thing as we head into a season where intellect and wit will be in short supply.