Ex Machina | Film review – Alex Garland’s chilly fable of artificial intelligence and human fallibility

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.British author Alex Garland (The Beach) makes his directing debut with stylish sci-fi thriller Ex Machina, a chilly cerebral fable about artificial intelligence and human fallibility that touches on our nagging fear that sometime soon machines will outstrip their creators.

Domhnall Gleeson’s geeky computer programmer travels to the remote Alaskan retreat of his reclusive billionaire boss (Oscar Isaac) and quickly becomes smitten with Alicia Vikander’s sensual, stunning android. He is supposed to be testing her for signs of consciousness. Yet how does she feel about him?

As the plot gathers pace, you may find yourself a step or two ahead of the story’s human characters but that won’t stop you from being gripped and disconcerted. The casting is perfect and with only one other character (played by Japanese dancer Sonoya Mizuno,) the film creates a mood of gathering claustrophobia that enhances the unease provoked by its perplexing ideas.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Certificate 15. Runtime 108 mins. Director Alex Garland.

Ex Machina is released on DVD & Blu-ray on Monday 1st June by Universal Studios UK.

To activate the sound in the trailer: hold your cursor over the screen to reveal the control panel and click on the volume control in the bottom right-hand corner.