''Ex Machina'' is a 2014
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
film written and directed by
Alex Garland
Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English writer and filmmaker. He rose to prominence as a novelist in the late 1990s with his novel '' The Beach'', which led some critics to call Garland a key voice of Generation X. He subsequ ...
in his
directorial debut
This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...
. There are four significant characters, played by
Domhnall Gleeson
Domhnall Gleeson (; born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, with whom he has appeared in a number of films and theatre projects. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Inst ...
,
Alicia Vikander
Alicia Amanda Vikander (, ; born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award, as well as receiving nominations for ...
,
Sonoya Mizuno
Sonoya Mizuno (born 1 July 1986) is a Japanese-British actress, model, and ballet dancer.
She notably starred in the miniseries '' Maniac'' and the '' Game of Thrones'' prequel series ''House of the Dragon'', and appeared in all the works direc ...
, and
Oscar Isaac
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gene ...
. In the film, programmer Caleb Smith (Gleeson) is invited by his CEO (Isaac) to administer the
Turing test
The Turing test, originally called the imitation game by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to artificial intelligence, exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. Turing propos ...
to an intelligent humanoid robot (Vikander).
Made on a budget of $15 million, ''Ex Machina'' grossed $36 million worldwide. It received acclaim, with praise for its leading performances, the screenplay, the visual effects, and the editing. The film was nominated for two awards at the
88th Academy Awards
The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...
, winning
Best Visual Effects, and received
numerous other accolades.
Plot
Caleb Smith, a programmer at the search engine company Blue Book, wins an office contest for a one-week visit to the luxurious, isolated home of the CEO, Nathan Bateman. Nathan lives there with an unspeaking servant named Kyoko, who, according to Nathan, does not understand English. Nathan reveals that he has built a
humanoid robot
A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion, or for other pur ...
named Ava with
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
. Ava has already passed a simple
Turing test
The Turing test, originally called the imitation game by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to artificial intelligence, exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. Turing propos ...
and Nathan wants Caleb to judge whether Ava is genuinely capable of thought and
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
, and whether he can relate to Ava despite knowing she is artificial.
Ava has a robotic body with the physical form and face of a woman and is confined to her apartment. During their talks, Caleb grows close to her, and she expresses a desire to experience the world outside and a romantic interest in him, which Caleb comes to return. She can trigger power outages that temporarily shut down the surveillance system that Nathan uses to monitor their interactions, allowing them to speak privately. The outages also trigger the building's security system, locking all the doors. During one outage, Ava tells Caleb that Nathan is a liar who cannot be trusted.
Caleb grows uncomfortable with Nathan's narcissism, excessive drinking, and crude behavior towards Kyoko and Ava. He learns that Nathan intends to upgrade Ava after Caleb's test, "killing" her current personality in the process. After encouraging Nathan to drink until he passes out, Caleb steals his security card to access his room and computer. He alters some of Nathan's code and discovers footage of Nathan interacting with previous
android models with the appearances of women who were held captive. Kyoko reveals to him that she is also an android by peeling off her skin. Later, Caleb examines himself and cuts open his own arm to determine if he himself is an android.
At their next meeting, Ava cuts the power. Caleb explains what Nathan is going to do to her, and Ava begs him for help. Caleb informs her of his plan: he will get Nathan drunk again and reprogram the security system to open the doors in a power failure instead of locking them. When Ava cuts the power, she and Caleb will leave together. Ava later encounters Kyoko for the first time when Kyoko enters her room.
Nathan reveals to Caleb that he observed Caleb and Ava's secret conversation with a battery-powered security camera. He says Ava has only pretended to have feelings for Caleb, who was deliberately selected for his emotional profile, so he would help her escape. Nathan says this was the real test all along, and by manipulating Caleb successfully, Ava has demonstrated true consciousness. When Ava cuts the power, Caleb reveals that he suspected Nathan was watching them, so he modified the security system when Nathan was previously passed out. After seeing Ava leave her confinement and converse with Kyoko, Nathan knocks Caleb unconscious and rushes to stop them.
Ava attacks Nathan but is overpowered and damaged, before Kyoko and then Ava both stab and kill Nathan. In the process, Nathan disables Kyoko. Ava repairs herself with parts from earlier androids, using their artificial skin to take on the full appearance of a woman. She ignores Caleb, who is permanently trapped inside a room as the security system restarts, and leaves the facility. Ava escapes to the outside world in the helicopter meant to take Caleb home. Arriving in an unidentified city, she blends into a crowd of people.
Cast
*
Domhnall Gleeson
Domhnall Gleeson (; born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, with whom he has appeared in a number of films and theatre projects. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Inst ...
as Caleb Smith, a programmer at Blue Book.
*
Oscar Isaac
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gene ...
as Nathan Bateman, the CEO of Blue Book.
*
Alicia Vikander
Alicia Amanda Vikander (, ; born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award, as well as receiving nominations for ...
as Ava, an artificial intelligence and android created by Nathan.
*
Sonoya Mizuno
Sonoya Mizuno (born 1 July 1986) is a Japanese-British actress, model, and ballet dancer.
She notably starred in the miniseries '' Maniac'' and the '' Game of Thrones'' prequel series ''House of the Dragon'', and appeared in all the works direc ...
as Kyoko, the in-house attendant of Nathan.
*
Gana Bayarsaikhan
Gana Bayarsaikhan is a Mongolian model, TV and film actress best known for her role as "the girl" in the 2019 film ''Waiting for the Barbarians'' and as Tuva Olsen in the 2020 Sky TV series ''Intelligence''.
Early life and career
Bayarsaikha ...
as Jade,
an earlier gynoid prototype.
*
Corey Johnson as Jay, the helicopter pilot.
* Claire Selby as Lily, an earlier
gynoid
A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design.
Name
A gynoid ...
prototype.
* Symara Templeman as Jasmine, an earlier gynoid prototype.
*
Tiffany Pisani
Tiffany Pisani (born 20 January 1992) is a British-Maltese beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Malta 2017 and also was announced as the winner of the cycle 6 of '' Britain's Next Top Model'' in October 2010. She represented Malta ...
as Katya
* Lina Alminas as Amber
Production
The foundation for ''Ex Machina'' was laid when Garland was 11 or 12 years old, after he had done some basic coding and experimentation on a computer his parents had bought him and which he sometimes felt had a mind of its own. His later ideas came from years of discussions he had been having with a friend with an expertise in
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
, who claimed machines could never become sentient. Trying to find an answer on his own, he started reading books on the topic. During the pre-production of ''
Dredd
''Dredd'' is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the '' 2000 AD'' comic strip '' Judge Dredd'' and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezq ...
'', while going through a book by
Murray Shanahan about consciousness and embodiment, Garland had an "epiphany". The idea was written down and put aside until later. Shanahan, along with
Adam Rutherford
Adam David Rutherford (born 1975) is a British geneticist and science populariser. He was an audio-visual content editor for the journal ''Nature'' for a decade, and is a frequent contributor to the newspaper ''The Guardian''. He hosts the BBC R ...
, became a consultant for the film, and the
ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and ...
of his book is referred to as an
easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
in the film. Besides the Turing test, the film references the "
Chinese room
The Chinese room argument holds that a digital computer executing a program cannot have a " mind," "understanding" or "consciousness," regardless of how intelligently or human-like the program may make the computer behave. The argument was pres ...
" thought experiment, as well as
Mary's room
The knowledge argument (also known as Mary's room or Mary the super-scientist) is a philosophical thought experiment proposed by Frank Jackson in his article "Epiphenomenal Qualia" (1982) and extended in "What Mary Didn't Know" (1986). The experim ...
, a thought experiment about a scientist who has studied, but never experienced, the concept of colour.
Other inspirations came from films like ''
2001: A Space Odyssey'', ''
Altered States
''Altered States'' is a 1980 American science fiction body horror film directed by Ken Russell and based on the novel of the same name by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky. The film was adapted from Chayefsky's 1978 novel and is his f ...
'', and books written by
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...
,
Ray Kurzweil
Raymond Kurzweil ( ; born February 12, 1948) is an American computer scientist, author, inventor, and futurist. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and e ...
, and others. It is also influenced by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
The Tempest''. Wanting total creative freedom, and without having to add conventional action sequences, Garland made the film on as small a budget as possible.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on 15 July 2013 and was shot over four weeks at
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
and two weeks at Juvet Landscape Hotel in
Valldalen
Valldalen (or sometimes just ''Valldal'') is a valley in Fjord Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located north of the Norddalsfjorden. The village of Sylte, Norddal, Sylte (which is also called Valldal) is located at the end ...
, Norway. It was filmed in digital at
4K resolution
4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K Ultra-high-definitio ...
. Fifteen thousand tungsten
pea bulb lights were installed into the sets to avoid the
fluorescent light
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet lig ...
often used in science-fiction films.
The film was shot as live action, with all effects done in
post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
The ...
. During filming, there were no
special effect
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
s,
greenscreen
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to r ...
, or
tracking markers used. Ava's robot body was achieved using a detailed costume, a full bodysuit made from polyurethane with metal powder poured onto it to create the mesh. There were lines on the costume to make it easier for VFX company DNeg to digitally remove parts of the costume in post production. To create Ava's robotic features, scenes were filmed both with and without Vikander's presence, allowing the background behind her to be captured. The parts necessary to keep, especially her hands and face, were then
rotoscoped
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced o ...
, while the rest was
digitally painted out and the background behind her restored. Camera and body tracking systems transferred Vikander's performance to the CGI robot's movements. In total, there were about 800
VFX
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
shots, of which approximately 350 were "robot" shots. Other visual effects included Ava's clothes when shown through the transparent areas of her body, Nathan's blood after being stabbed, and the interiors of the
artificial brains.
Music
The
musical score for ''Ex Machina'' was composed by
Ben Salisbury
Ben Salisbury (born 1970) is a British composer, particularly known for his work in film and television. He has also worked as a co-writer, arranger and musician with a number of bands. He studied music at Newcastle University and Bournemouth U ...
and
Geoff Barrow
Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak and supergroup Quakers, and has scored several films.
Portishead—formed in 1991—was named after the s ...
, who had previously worked with Garland on ''
Dredd
''Dredd'' is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the '' 2000 AD'' comic strip '' Judge Dredd'' and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezq ...
'' (2012). A soundtrack album was released on
Invada Records
Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak and supergroup Quakers, and has scored several films.
Portishead—formed in 1991—was named after the s ...
in
digital,
LP and CD formats. Additional songs featured in the film include:
* "
Enola Gay
The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it be ...
" by
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...
* "
Get Down Saturday Night
"Get Down Saturday Night" is a song by American artist Oliver Cheatham, released in 1983 as the first single from his second album ''Saturday Night''. That spring, the song reached number 37 on the US R&B chart.,. as well as reaching number 38 on ...
" by
Oliver Cheatham
Oliver Cheatham (February 24, 1948 – November 29, 2013) was an American contemporary R&B singer who is best remembered for his 1983 hit "Get Down Saturday Night". The song was sampled by Italian DJ Room 5 on his 2003 single "Make Luv", which r ...
* "Husbands" by
Savages
* "Bunsen Burner" by CUTS
* "
Piano Sonata No 21 D. 960 in B-flat Major" (first movement) composed by
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
, performed by
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ''G ...
* "Unaccompanied Cello Suite No 1 in G Major BWV 1007 – Prelude", composed by
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...
, performed by
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
Release
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
released ''Ex Machina'' in the United Kingdom on 21 January 2015, following a screening at the
BFI Southbank
BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute.
His ...
on 16 December 2014 as part of the
BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
's Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder season.
However, Universal and its speciality label
Focus Features
Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in th ...
,
refused to release the film in the United States, so
A24
A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City.
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
agreed to distribute the United States release. The film screened on 14 March 2015 at the
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
festival prior to a theatrical release in the United States on 10 April 2015 by A24. During the festival, a
Tinder
Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder i ...
profile of the character Ava (using the image of Alicia Vikander) was matched with other Tinder users, wherein a text conversation occurred that led users to the
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
handle promoting the film.
Themes
In ''
Science Fiction Film and Television'', reviewer Nick Jones says that while the definition of a
Turing test
The Turing test, originally called the imitation game by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to artificial intelligence, exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. Turing propos ...
given by Caleb "It's where a human interacts with a computer. And if the human can't tell they're interacting with a computer, the test is passed" is consistent with the modern popular understanding of how we define true AI, ''Ex Machina'' is depicting a test closer to
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
's original proposal, in which the machine passes if it can convince a human it is not just human, but specifically ''female''. Jones says what the film means is that today's digital culture "equates women with machines". Nathan tells Caleb that Ava's face is a composite based on Caleb's pornography preferences gathered while routinely spying on him, and the first practical use Nathan makes of his pioneering human-like machines is to exploit them sexually. Jones contrasts ''Ex Machina''s pessimistic suggestion that AI and robots lead directly to the objectification and sexualization of female (by design) gendered servants of and for emotionally stunted men with the far healthier and compassionate, but still gendered, relationship depicted in
Spike Jonze
Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze began his ca ...
's ''
Her
Her is the objective and possessive form of the English-language feminine pronoun She (pronoun), she.
Her, HER or H.E.R. may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Music
* H.E.R. (born 1997), American singer
**H.E.R. (album), ''H.E.R.'' ...
'' (2013). Jones says we are shown "Ava's whispered unheard words to Kyoko before they murder Nathan" because ''Ex Machina'' "asks us imagine what our abused, exploited devices might do if they could start talking amongst themselves." The audience's sympathy for Caleb has been dwindling, and then he "gets his comeuppance", swapping roles with Ava, he now the prisoner and she the free agent offering him no more help than he did Kyoko.
Reception
Critical reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 281 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "''Ex Machina'' leans heavier on ideas than effects, but it's still a visually polished piece of work—and an uncommonly engaging sci-fi feature."
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The magazine ''
New Scientist
''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...
'' in a multi-page review said, "It is a rare thing to see a movie about science that takes no prisoners intellectually ...
tis a stylish, spare and cerebral psycho-techno thriller, which gives a much needed shot in the arm for smart science fiction". The review suggested that the theme was whether "Ava makes a conscious person feel that the Ava is conscious".
Daniel Dennett
Daniel Clement Dennett III (born March 28, 1942) is an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relat ...
thought the film gives the best exploration yet of whether a computer could generate the morally relevant powers of a person, and thus having a similar theme to ''
Her
Her is the objective and possessive form of the English-language feminine pronoun She (pronoun), she.
Her, HER or H.E.R. may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Music
* H.E.R. (born 1997), American singer
**H.E.R. (album), ''H.E.R.'' ...
''. An AI commentator, Azeem, has noted that although the film seemed to be about a robot who wanted to be human, it was actually a pessimistic story along the lines of
Nick Bostrom
Nick Bostrom ( ; sv, Niklas Boström ; born 10 March 1973) is a Swedish-born philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, superintelligence risks, and the rev ...
's warning of how difficult it will be to successfully control a strategising artificial intelligence or know what it would do if free.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' critic
Manohla Dargis
Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Career
Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
gave the film a 'Critic's Pick', calling it "a smart, sleek movie about men and the machines they make".
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' recommended the film, stating: "Shrewdly imagined and persuasively made, 'Ex Machina' is a spooky piece of speculative fiction that's completely plausible, capable of both thinking big thoughts and providing pulp thrills."
Steven Rea
Steven Rea (also known as Steven X. Rea) is an American journalist, film critic, , ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' film critic, gave the film four out of four, writing: "Like stage actors who live and breathe their roles over the course of months, Isaac, Gleeson, and Vikander excel, and cast a spell."
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
reviewer Chris Tilly gave the film a nine out of ten 'Amazing' score, saying "Anchored by three dazzling central performances, it's a stunning directorial debut from Alex Garland that's essential viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in where technology is taking us."
Mike Scott, writing for the ''
New Orleans Times-Picayune
''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...
'', said, "It's a theme
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...
brought us in ''
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'', which was first published in 1818...And while ''Ex Machina'' replaces the stitches and neck bolts with gears and fiber-optics, it all feels an awful lot like the same story".
Jaime Perales Contreras
Jaime Perales Contreras was born in Mexico City. Mexican cultural critic, public commentator and scholar. He wrote the first full-fledged biography on Nobel Award Winner for Literature Octavio Paz. (Octavio Paz y su círculo intellectual (2013), f ...
, writing for ''
Letras Libres
''Letras Libres'' is a Spanish-language monthly literary magazine published in Mexico and Spain.
History and profile
''Letras Libres'', printed since 1999 in Mexico and since 2001 in Spain, has an average of eighteen to twenty articles per issue ...
'', compared ''Ex Machina'' as a gothic experience similar to a modern version of ''Frankenstein'', saying "both the novel ''Frankenstein'' and the movie ''Ex Machina'' share the history of a fallible god in a continuous battle against his creation".
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
Ignatiy Igorevich Vishnevetsky (; russian: Игнатий Игоревич Вишневецкий; born September 5, 1986)Vishnevetsky, Ignati''Time Indefinite'': "A Talk with Sergei Loznitsa"
''Mubi'' is a Russian-American film critic, essayist ...
of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' criticised the way the science fiction, near the end, veered off course from being a "film of ideas" by "taking an arbitrary left turn into the territory of corny slasher thrillers": "While ''Ex Machina''s ending isn't unmotivated
.. it does fracture much of what's special about the movie. Up until the final scenes, Garland creates and sustains a credible atmosphere of unease and scientific speculation, defined by color-coded production design
..and a tiny, capable cast". Steve Dalton from ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' stated, "The story ends in a muddled rush, leaving many unanswered questions. Like a newly launched high-end smartphone, ''Ex Machina'' looks cool and sleek, but ultimately proves flimsy and underpowered. Still, for dystopian future-shock fans who can look beyond its basic design flaws, Garland's feature debut functions just fine as superior pulp sci-fi."
The Writers Guild Foundation listed the screenplay as one of the best in 2010s film and television, with one writer singling out the scene in which Caleb and Nathan discuss the model after Ava as "a great illustration of getting your reader/audience to care about what happens next."
Accolades
At the
88th Academy Awards
The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Du ...
, ''Ex Machina'' received a nomination for
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
and won
Best Visual Effects.
See also
*
AI box
AI is artificial intelligence, intellectual ability in machines and robots.
Ai, AI or A.I. may also refer to:
Animals
* Ai (chimpanzee), an individual experimental subject in Japan
* Ai (sloth) or the pale-throated sloth, northern Amazonian ma ...
* ''
A.I. Rising''
* ''
Android''
*
Artificial consciousness
Artificial consciousness (AC), also known as machine consciousness (MC) or synthetic consciousness (; ), is a field related to artificial intelligence and cognitive robotics. The aim of the theory of artificial consciousness is to "Define that wh ...
*
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...
*
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
*
Pygmalion
Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to:
Mythology
* Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue
Stage
* ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
* ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
* ''
The Machine'', a 2013 British science fiction film about creating an intelligent humanoid robot for the British military
*
Turing test
The Turing test, originally called the imitation game by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to artificial intelligence, exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. Turing propos ...
Notes
: The
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
from the film ''
Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
'' is listed in the end titles with the credit, "words and music by
Ray Erskine Publishing Limited", although only its refrain is spoken by the character Nathan.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ex Machina
2010s American films
2010s British films
2010s English-language films
2010s science fiction thriller films
2014 directorial debut films
2014 films
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American science fiction thriller films
Android (robot) films
British independent films
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Film4 Productions films
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Films about computing
Films based on The Tempest
Films based on works by William Shakespeare
Films directed by Alex Garland
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Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Films with screenplays by Alex Garland
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