debut of British screenwriter and
novelist Alex Garland and draws
on elements we’ve seen in his
work before; the dream vacation turned sour in his novel The
Beach and the question of man’s
right to create life explored in
his screenplay adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.
Ex Machina is low on originality, with plot developments as
transparent as the walls of Nathan’s cyber-home, but it’s high
on atmosphere and brooding
tension. The three central characters are brought to life pers uasively by Gleeson, Isaac and
especially Vikander in the trickiest of the roles. Something of a
robotic femme fatale, ala Sean
Young’s Blade Runner cyborg,
it’s easy to see why Caleb would
fall for her charms. Isaac is wonderfully sleazy as the boss from
hell, stabbing Caleb in the back
with every falsely affectionate
embrace. Gleeson has the everyman type down pat at this point,
and no longer resides in his father’s hefty shadow.
Combining modern technological concerns with a retro ‘70s
sci-fi aesthetic gives Ex Machina
a timeless quality that means it
should be viewable a decade
from now without losing any of
its appeal. Playing out like an adaptation of some newly discovered Isaac Asimov novel, Garland’s film is intelligent without
being heady, and should satisfy
hardcore sci-fi buffs and casual
viewers alike.
7/10
Directed by: Alex Garland
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac,
Alicia Vikander
New Jersey Stage
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