Ex Machina's Big Ideas and Bigger Questions
Enter the Garland-verse. "A stunning work of science-fiction" - The Weeknd
It is somehow near the end of January 2022 and with every passing day we move closer to the future. Whether you believe time is linear or a flat circle or perhaps you’ve heard of Bostrom’s simulation argument; we are existing in an unprecedented time. We live in a constantly evolving technological moment where we at the same time have 5G towers and whatever Neurolink is. NFTs and crypto currencies have taken over the consciousness and pretty soon we will live in a sort of Metaverse where we will all look like this.
It almost feels like we already exist online and share the same experiences with each other virtually. I could write about a number of different films (and even recent ones: The Matrix) that reflect our current lives but after seeing videos like these:
I can't help but be reminded of one of my favourite films of recent memory: Alex Garland's 2015 film Ex Machina.
The film begins when a smart but naive coder, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) working for a giant tech conglomerate gets "randomly selected" to go to the CEO's estate to help with a special secret project. This is looked at as a big opportunity to be on the ground floor of a technological breakthrough. When Caleb arrives by helicopter at Nathan Bateman's1 (Oscar Issac) secluded estate, it is not long before Caleb and the audience begin to suspect a more sinister plot unfolding as Nathan explains to Caleb that he was chosen to be the human in his Turing Test.2 We then meet Ava (Alicia Vikander), an artificial intelligent humanoid who has an uncanny resemblance to that of an actual human. She moves and speaks in a jarring and admittedly robotic manner at first but everything about her seems human. Her intellect, her ability to reason and eventually her desperate desire to survive.
SPOILERS from here on out. Go ahead and watch this one if you haven't already. Trust.
We soon find out that Caleb was not randomly selected but chosen to be the human in this test. Nathan's built this bizarro Turing Test for Caleb specifically, he was a subject in a larger test. Nathan didn’t just build Ava but multiple AI humanoids that would pass any Turing test with flying colours. One could imagine what Nathan gets up to all alone with robots he created that are only women.
The film then follows a pretty traditional formula for any AI sci-fi film where the creature goes on to kill their creator. The thing that Nathan had created was too sophisticated, too advanced and too human to be trapped inside a glass box like some lab rat.
By the end of the film Ava manages to escape through seducing Caleb into a false sense of security and trust. She had an understanding that humans and their emotions are susceptible to deception. Ava took advantage of Caleb because Ava was literally built for him. Nathan chose Caleb because he was vulnerable, he used all of Caleb's personal information, including his pornography history to build Ava into his perfect woman. Perfect to seduce and destroy Caleb. He really had no chance with the amount of information Nathan mined from him.
This film has so many different overarching themes including but not limited to:
gender roles
misogyny
human consciousness
the powers and perils of artificial intelligence
online security
big tech
trust/betrayal
(something for everyone)
The film is undoubtedly enhanced by themes and messaging, but this really is just a damn good film. The story telling is so tight and efficient. It wastes no time getting into the story and the plot points (even the expected ones) are satisfying. Issac, Gleason and Vikander are so good. The director Alex Garland has gone on to make many great things since starting as a novelist turned screenwriter for films like The Beach and 28 Days Later. It is an impressive feature debut with the overall style, tone and pacing of the film. Some may write this off as another indie sci fi film but it is much more than that.
It proposes life’s ultimate question of what it means to be human. To have free thought? Ava sure had thoughts of being free. The last frames of the film are of Ava existing as a humanoid in the real world. How is she any less human than any of us. With a rich history of sci-fi films we know that the end of the film has but only a few options. Survival or extinction.
There are so many great moments in the film. The sets and locations are beautiful. This isn’t a stuffy serious sci-fi, it has levity. Issac plays Nathan as this effortless genius with a Jesus complex but with a sense of humour and great taste. We watch with Caleb as an intoxicated Nathan spews both psychological and scientific jargon. We see the psychological toll on Caleb due in large part to Nathan’s mind games. There is even a point in the film where Caleb questions his existence as a human (not unlike Deckard from Blade Runner). This film is a thriller, sci-fi film, pitch black comedy and bible analogy all wrapped in one.
Whether the real message of the film is that artificial intelligence will eventually be what makes human extinct, men have unrealistic and toxic delusions of women, or that big tech and cyber security is a real and right now issue doesn't really matter. The film is all of those things and more. It asks tough questions like should we be fucking with humans and androids like Nathan does? Should we be fucking robots like Caleb wants to do? Should we kill the male patriarchy like Ava does? All I know is that this film is a thrill to sit through and constantly brings up new ideas. Like life, science fiction films are usually built around big ideas and questions even if we never do get the answers.
Highly recommended if you have yet to see this one. You would not be wasting your time.
Ex Machina Ranking:
9/10 drunk evil geniuses.
After every review on a film, I will give out a few recommendations. Think the “more like this” feature on Netflix but better.
FILMS TO WATCH IF YOU LIKED THIS ONE:
Under the Skin Jonathan Glazer 2013 (Kanopy)
Devs Alex Garland 2020 (TV series - FX)
Ghost in the Shell Mamoru Oshii 1995 (Crave)
Thank you for reading!
Surely a reference to American Psycho’s sicko Patrick Bateman.
2014’s The Imitation Game directed by Morten Tyldum is an entire film about the Turing Test.