вЂњEx MachinaвЂќ turns out to be far wittier and more sensual than its coolly unblemished exterior implies itвЂ™s a trick that mirrors AvaвЂ™s own apparent Turing-test-defying evolution.В As further intricate psychological possibilities unfurl, the pic extends questions of mortality and human construction raised by Garland in his deft 2010 adaptation of Kazuo IshiguroвЂ™s genetic sci-fi parable вЂњNever Let Me GoвЂќ - principally that of what humanity is worth if it can be so soulfully replicated. But is she the only case study? And has her precise degree of consciousness and calculative ability been programmed by her creator, or has his expertise in this department exceeded his control?ДЄs the balance of power wavers between human and humanoid intelligence, a second dividing factor appears in thisВ uneasy, quasi-incestuous love triangle, as Ava exhibits hints of a feminine intuition that the jockish Nathan seems unlikely to have formatted himself - even if, in a provocative detail that opens up further consideration of sexual hierarchy, he made sure to grant her functioning facsimiles of genitalia. Furthermore, it arguably does a better job of honoring his intellectual legacy.) As the interloper falls hard and fast for the android, the test would appear to be passed with flying colors. (That, of course, makes вЂњEx MachinaвЂќ the second film of recent months, following the much-garlanded вЂњThe Imitation Game,вЂќ to concern itself with the research of computer scientist Alan Turing. And so, during the first of CalebвЂ™s seven planned consultation sessions with her, do her casual conversational ability and dry, even flirtatious sense of humor somewhat surprisingly, Nathan has designed an organism as delicate and genial as he is brusque and self-absorbed.Д¬alebвЂ™s task is to perform a Turing test on Ava, determining whether her thinking and behavior is, at any level, distinguishable from that of a human being - and if so, where the disconnect lies.

The bossвЂ™ most recent breakthrough takes the form of Ava (Vikander), a female-gendered robot whose expressive, peach-soft facial features belie her transparent synthetic form and complex exposed wiring. Upon arrival, however, the wet-behind-the-ears nerd discovers that his golden ticket is no luxury perk: Rather, heвЂ™s been recruited to participate in a cloistered research experiment, testing the limits and limitations of NathanвЂ™s stunningly advanced new developments in AI technology. It emerges that Caleb has won a competition staged by his employers, the worldвЂ™s largest Internet provider, to spend a week with enigmatic CEO Nathan (Isaac) at the latterвЂ™s expensively hermetic woodland lair - dazzlingly envisioned by production designer Mark Digby as a palatial blend of Philip Johnson severity and Scandinavian laboratory chic. As it turns out, heвЂ™s soon to join us there. Rob HardyвЂ™s camera peers at Caleb in his office as if from the reverse side of his computer screen, while muted audio suggests weвЂ™re observing him from a quarantined realm. Indeed, the filmвЂ™s very first frame serves to distance viewers from their own: D.p.

(In this case, at least, the gender-biased pronoun feels appropriate.) One might call it a cautionary tale, though Garland isnвЂ™t necessarily on humanityвЂ™s side. In its dramatization of a literal love affair between human and artificial intelligence - the same unsolvable conundrum that haunted the recent вЂњHerвЂќ - вЂњEx MachinaвЂќ follows suit,В its updated mad-scientist study showing manвЂ™s capacity for invention exceeding his reserves of empathy. Much of GarlandвЂ™s fiction and screenwriting work is built on austerely abstract hypotheses, yet peopled by comparatively fragile characters unequal to the challenges of their story world. вЂњIвЂ™m hot on high-level abstraction,вЂќ brags 24-year-old Internet coder Caleb (Gleeson) early on in the proceedings - a qualification as necessary for the position of protagonist in an Alex Garland narrative as it is for the mysterious mission heвЂ™s assigned in the filmвЂ™s opaque opening reel.

Ex machina rating