MOVIE RECOMMENDATION: EX MACHINA
by Hazed
A few weeks ago I saw a movie called Ex Machina which I am still thinking about. It’s a science fiction thriller about artificial intelligence; what would it take for a robot to be considered intelligent, and can it behave in such a way that those interacting with it treat it as human?
A small film that has only four characters, taking place mostly in one place, it involves a young programmer, Caleb, who works for a company that is the equivalent of Google. He’s picked by his CEO Nathan to fly out to his remote estate and perform a Turing test on a robot, to determine whether it is truly intelligent.
The robot, called Ava, is elegant: it has the face and hands of a human woman, with a body and limbs that let us see through the surface to the wiring within. Will Caleb be able to treat her as human even though she is so obviously a droid?
Despite being a genius, Nathan is a bully and a drunk, and it becomes clear as the film progresses that all it not as it seems. As the line between humanity and machine is blurred, our feelings towards the characters shift and our allegiance – who we feel empathy for – changes.
The film is also beautifully shot, with the “underground lair” where Nathan lives and the wild landscape around it acting to cut the action off from the real world.
I often see films that I enjoy while I am in the cinema but which are instantly forgettable when I come out. This one stayed with me, and I was still thinking about the issues it raised days after seeing it.
If you get a chance, go and see it, or grab it when it shows up on DVD later. It’s one of the best science fiction films of recent years.
