KIS: Ex Machina review by Esther, Ahmed, Tyler and Cédric - Final Draft

Ex Machina (2015)

Directed and written by Alex Garland
Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac
108 minutes

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI8XBKb6DQk

GENERAL REVIEW:

Some films deal with tough topics and fall flat. Others hit the mark dead center by hammering home the message loud and clear. Ex Machina fits into the latter category. Grappling with the struggles that our own world will no doubt be facing in the near future, the movie delves into the sinister and gloomy reality-to-be. The film is a masterpiece, in terms of pacing and design. Additionally, the story is delivered with a definitive certainty and its visual effects are simple yet effective in every instance.

The story, in short, goes like this. A young employee, by the name of Caleb Smith, wins a week-long “vacation” at his boss Nathan Bateman’s remote mansion. During his week, he must test a new artificial intelligence by the name of Ava. As the week goes by, Caleb becomes more suspicious of his boss’s ideas and goals as the A.I. Ava warns him of such. He eventually discovers the big secret: that his boss keeps trying to create new A.I.’s and treats them very poorly. With this newfound knowledge, Caleb creates a plan to help Ava escape. However, this plan goes awry when Ava is revealed to have taken advantage of him. In a scary yet brief showdown, Ava kills the boss who’s preventing her from escaping and traps Caleb. The film ends with her exploring the outside world and being fully immersed in it with no one knowing that she is a robot.



Watching this film is to take a fascinating and deep philosophical trek. None of that fake-deep stuff can be found here. Domhnall Gleeson’s portrayal of Caleb, a naive and unassuming lead, is stellar and performed with subtle accuracy. His casual wear, upon staying in the mansion for a few days, is his weak attempt to look comfortable. The audience gets the feeling that he really does have the best intentions at heart but lacks the prowess and dignity to think straight. His character embodies all these aspects as a winner of a “competition”, ready to spend a luxurious week at his multi-billionaire boss’s mansion. Little does he know that he’s being used to perform a sort of Turing Test on a very advanced A.I.

The dynamic relationship between Caleb Smith and Oscar Isaac’s Nathan Bateman is intentionally awkward. Isaac does a decent job at transmitting his character’s rich and undermining self. Isaac gives credence to Nate’s twisted beliefs that he is making an A.I. in order to help and safely develop the human technology. Each and every dialogue between the two is unsettlingly bizarre, especially when Nate transforms Caleb’s words to state: “You’re not a man. You’re God.” I shudder at the sheer thought of that moment.

Nate may be offsetting at times but his costume is well-designed. His workout tank top with the sweat stain contrasts heavily with the suit and tie Caleb is wearing upon arriving at the house after his journey. It also exemplifies the difference in attitude and overall discomfort Caleb is feeling throughout the entire intro to the movie.

   It is evident in each and every moment that Garland knew what he was doing during the creation of this film. Character and acting have already been discussed with regards to Caleb and Nathan, including their unique dynamic. The rest of this critique will examine lighting, special effects, framing, and editing, among other various and fascinating techniques throughout.

Take the lighting, for example. In many moments, we see Garland maximizing the potential of lighting to add another layer of meaning. The red light during the powercut scenes provides a sense of emergency and danger, perfectly executed without much description required. Most of the mansion lacks windows, also creating a dark and gloomy ambiance. This also creates a feeling of isolation, demonstrating in another way the separation of the house from the rest of the world, like a prison. The moment where lighting is used the best comes during a discussion between Caleb and Nate in a room There is a bright beam of light on the floor dividing them. Caleb stands in the dark whereas Nate stands next to the painting in the light. The contrast of naivety and cunning, respectively, is clearly represented in a simple yet effective manner.

   Not only are the lighting and character dynamics perfectly portrayed, but the CGI is effortlessly remarkable. Ava, the centerpiece of the entire story, is designed with such an elementary beauty, it’s hard to look away. Garland’s vision is stunning, maintaining a realistic and robotic combination. It is detailed and beautifully produced.

     Every conversation Caleb has with Ava sends you into a deeper valley--of the uncanny valley--than the next. It puts all our ideas into question due to the unnerving nature of their dialogues. Ava is smart beyond measure, outplaying every character and leaving them dead or next to that bed. It clearly plays well on the idea of the uncanny valley, inspiring fear, and awe all in a single breath.

But rewind back to the earlier conversations between Ava and Caleb. The variety in the framing keeps the moments alternating between outright weird and thought-provoking.

Take, for instance, the time where the camera never left Ava’s face, giving the viewer all the time in the world to analyze her responses to Caleb’s questions and comments. Or that time where the camera delivers a low-angle shot on Ava over Caleb’s shoulder to show the shift in the dialogue and her sudden dominance over him.

All these instances provide an eclectic and varied film experience.

Garland does his utmost best to keep the viewer intrigued and hooked, with multiple plot twists and the such, but ultimately, it’s down to a matter of taste; if you like action, then this movie isn’t for you.

Although this movie might not be geared towards action enthusiasts, its art design is flawless. The fusion between wilderness and technology shots provide a tasteful contrast. This relationship is nicely conceived by having scenes shot not only indoors but outdoors as well. Occasional and nicely-placed aerial shots add to this effect. These are used mostly for transition purposes but there a few instances where the main characters do venture outside. In these, Caleb always seems out of his element, reinforcing his figure as an awkward geek.

One thing that is unique to this film is the “Ava slides”. They appear seven times and show a steady development in her abilities. They flesh out the structure of the film but it gradually becomes more complex as the story advances. The slides are useful, intriguing and overall a different cinematic choice that benefits the film.  They show up every time Caleb communicates face-to-face with Ava. The final time, it feels as though Ava has surpassed Caleb as she leaves him to stare in wonderment and she walks out the door, never to return. The drama created in this almost wordless few minutes is perfect.

And those wordless minutes are essentially the overall experience of watching that film. It definitely left us in shock. Seeing Ava for what she really is (a cold and manipulative robot) brought us back to reality and instilled a very real sense of fright. Thought-provoking moments along with pretty set-pieces created a terrific ambiance and a fascinating film.

Ex Machina dealt with the tough topic and grasped it by the proverbial horns. Seeing into the near-future what A.I. could potentially lead to? And how this path is so within reach? It seriously makes us question the power some of us have over the entirety of humanity. Is there a way to avoid this dark future that lurks around the corner. Or are we destined to destroy ourselves due to our own ignorance? Perhaps we may never have to deal with these issues first-hand, but a film that can so courageously stand up to such thoughts is one definitely worth anyone’s time.

(1307 WORDS)

QUALITY OF FILM:

We would recommend going to see this film. It is a film that should definitely be considered because of its main subject: artificial intelligence. This is a subject that is increasingly studied by researchers and scientists and this movie brings up thoughts about how one person might react if they were to interact with a being of heightened sentience. Although AI’s do not walk down the same streets as us yet, movies such as Ex Machina can prepare us for the days that they will which, according to different articles and studies, is in the near future. It is a captivating movie because of the intimacy that comes with it. The intimate scenes are between Caleb and Ava, but in reality, they’re not really intimate because there is always a glass wall separating them. Not only is there a constant glass wall between them, but also the constant cameras and presence of surveillance in Nathan's home. They are constantly being watched no matter when and where. On top of being watched by the cameras in Nathan's home, they are also being watched by Alex Garland's legitimate filming cameras, the whole crew surrounding them while filming the movie as well as us as viewers. Caleb and Ava never have real intimacy because of this constant surveillance that surrounds their every move. On the other hand, the movie switches between light and dark, between indoors and outdoors creating an illusion for the spectators. Indoors is dark and sinister and reflects Nathan’S character and his intentions and outdoors is vast, beautiful and light which reflects Caleb’s character before having met Nathan as well as the pretty sweet girl that Ava appears to be. This movie deals with the near future in a very realistic, easy-to-believe way which makes it more relatable to the audience. The director succeeded in making the audience feel uncomfortable and creeped out by the escape of Ava. The ending was rather interesting as it came unexpectedly and lead everyone to see the meaning of it differently since the director leaves what happens after Ava escapes to our imagination. It is a science fiction film that one day will no longer be considered fiction but a reality in our universe.

COURSE CONCEPTS:

SENTIENCE:

The first concept we discussed in class we connected this movie to was sentience related to Ava. Sentience is subjective perceptual experience meaning that whoever is being said to be sentient is able to experience feelings such as pain, pleasure, and suffering. Even though Ava is an AI, she has shown very clear evidence of having sentient capacities. Having always being stuck inside her room, she finds herself suffering because of it and it is clear throughout the movie that she is affected by this by the ways she expresses herself to Caleb and asks for help. Also, it is clear that once Ava finds her way outdoors and is finally free she demonstrates pleasure. Another sentient being is Kioko for the same reasons. She was also stuck in that room once and her sentience is shown when she has a fit and takes her anger out on the wall.

CONSCIOUSNESS:

The second concept that we connected this movie with was consciousness, but more specifically state consciousness. Consciousness is a very studied subject, but also very complicated one. When are we conscious? When are we not conscious? Are we always conscious? These are questions that come with many different answers from many different points of views. Consciousness can be broken down as the simple act of having a finger ache, imagining something, fearing something, being cold etc. and in the case of Ava, we see many signs of consciousness. We can say she has a state consciousness when we see her imagining and daydreaming such as when she pictures herself outdoors in nature. A specific example of this moment is when Caleb tells her the story about Mary in the Black Box, Ava imagines herself being outside like a real human. Furthermore, Ava shows very clear signs of consciousness with her facial expressions. When she talks to Caleb during their sessions, you can see the fear and hope in her face. She fears being shut down if she doesn't escape, but she wants nothing more then to be able to get out of her room and explore the outdoor world. Not only does she have the capacity to dream, but is also able to listen very well. For example, during all the sessions with Caleb and Ava herself, she shows great interest in everything that Caleb is saying and she responds to it all which proves that she was listening very attentively. She is conscious of what is going on around her, of Caleb, of Nathan, of the cameras etc. She questions Nathan's intention and tries to show Caleb that he not who he thinks he is. She is aware of what is going outside of the box without even being outside of the box. The entire movie revolves around the idea of consciousness, therefore, it is the probably the most important idea to understand.

UNCANNY VALLEY:

The uncanny valley suggests humanoid objects that look and seem like real humans, or are strangely familiar to a human give us the feeling of eeriness and revulsion. However, when those objects become efficiently closer to humans in terms of shape or behavior, they move to the top of the valley where we tend to show empathy or love towards them or even develop a sense of fairness in the way we treat them. This milestone was key in the creation of Ava’s escape test. If Ava were to make you feel uneasy and revulsive she/it would have never been able to seduce Caleb. Her ability make Caleb fall for her demonstrates that she left the uncanny valley and made it to the other side in Caleb’s mind as well as the audience in the most part  We see in the earlier models for Ava’s face that it was a work in progress to make Caleb's perfect porn history physique. When comparing how we feel towards Nathan personal sex slave Kyoko who doesn't act like a human, the only information we are given is that she does not speak nor comprehend English, but this doesn't make up for the lack of emotional attachment that comes with her appearance. Kyoko is there to fulfill Nathan’s sexual desires, but she also attempts to fulfill Caleb when she gets the impression that he would like her to do so, but that is not the case as Caleb pushes her off when she tries to seduce him because he feels uncomfortable. Caleb reaches this uncanny valley when he finds out that Kyoko is, in fact, an AI. He reaches a level of confusion, annoyance, and discomfort to the point where he cuts his wrists and wipes his blood all over his mirror.

QUESTIONS:

Q1: If Nathans test for Ava had gone as expected and she had never escaped, what do you believe would have been her fate after having completed the Turing Test?

Q2: After Ava watches a bunch of people at a busy intersection, where do you think she goes?

Q3: Did Caleb ever do anything to deserve his ending?

WEB-LINKS:

The evolution of Artificial Intelligence article by UBS:
https://www.ubs.com/microsites/artificial-intelligence/en/ai-coming-age.html

For a while now, AI’s have been a growing subject of interest among many scientists and researchers. Many questions have been raised upon the topic of AI’s and this article by UBS explains how the subject of artificial intelligence has expanded throughout the years and what to expect in the near future. It answers the questions concerning the potential risks of having AI’s walk on the same streets are us, live in the same homes that we do etc.  

How to Make AI That’s Good for People by The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/opinion/artificial-intelligence-human.html

The main goal when it comes to creating AI’s is to make sure they have the right functions and manners in order to be accepted into society, in other words, to make them human-friendly. But how can scientists assure that the AI in question can fit the strict rules that society give us all to follow? This article goes into depth about all of that by giving them different roles such as a surgeon, how would an AI properly fit the role of a surgeon? What would it have to do in order to be efficient and accepted?

WORKS CITED:

Ex Machina. Directed by Alex Garland, performance by Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia

Vikander and Oscar Isaac, DNA Films and Film4 Productions, 2015. Netflix.

www.netflix.com/watch/80023689?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Ce3b5e2d8-96fb-42b7-a70f-82607fafb8f2-8895065.

Li, Fei Fei. “How to Make AI That’S Good for People.” The New York Times, March 7th, 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/opinion/artificial-intelligence-human.html. Accessed April 1st, 2018

McKinney, Kelly. Study Guide on Consciousness. Accessed April 10th, 2018.

“The evolution of artificial intelligence.” UBS, www.ubs.com/microsites/artificial-intelligence/en/ai-

coming-age.html. Accessed April 1st, 2018.