Ex Machina
2015
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson
Directed and written by Alex Garland
108 minutes
Ex Machina is a British sci-fi thriller movie directed by Alex Garland. Released in 2015,
this 108 minutes movie stars Alicia Vikander as “Ava” the main character, Oscar Isaac as
“Nathan”, the employer, Domhnall Gleeson as “Caleb”, the employee, and Sonoya Mizuno as
“Kyoko”. This film won the Oscar of the best visual effects in 2015 (Cinema Clock). REDUNDANT CHECK ABOVE
this 108 minutes movie stars Alicia Vikander as “Ava” the main character, Oscar Isaac as
“Nathan”, the employer, Domhnall Gleeson as “Caleb”, the employee, and Sonoya Mizuno as
“Kyoko”. This film won the Oscar of the best visual effects in 2015 (Cinema Clock). REDUNDANT CHECK ABOVE
In order to test a new type of artificial intelligence (AI), Caleb was chosen through a contest toperform the Turing Test on Nathan’s WHO IS NATHAN? latest project. The goal: determine if the computer with which the human is interacting with has artificial intelligence, and therefore consciousness. REWRITE Through the course of seven sessions, Caleb collaborates with Ava (the AI) under Nathan's surveillance, During the week of testing, Caleb and Ava build a trusting relationship,especially during electrical cuts
controlled by the robot where they were no longer able to be observed by Nathan. Feelings of betrayals and disgust seizesCaleb, as he learns about Nathan’s unethical intentions regarding the AI, wants to save Ava by escaping. He thus modifies the computer program of Nathan’s house. On the last day, Ava is able to escape the room she was trapped in and kills Nathan with Kyoko’s WHO IS ???help, covers herself with synthetic skin, leaves Caleb locked inside the house, and takes the helicopters to reach civilization. EDIT--STREAMLINE
INTRODUCE CINEMATIC TECHNIQUES when the electricity is cut, red lights illuminate the rooms during a brief instant until the current comes back. Since Ava causes the electrical outages, when the power is out Ava gains more power---they can represent a certain power over her creator. Whenever the lights turn red, cameras are malfunctioning, she can therefore discuss and behave differently with Caleb when unobserved. It is a slight moment of liberty and influence. ANALYSIS GOOD BUT NEEDS EDITING
Side lighting is used during the dinner scene where Caleb is interrogated by Nathan about how Ava
reacted during the power cut. Before Caleb responds, we see a closeup of Caleb’s face covered in
shadow. This brief shot is effective and demonstrates Caleb’s contemplation and decision making
to tell a lie, which is represented by his expression that shows his serious expression and the side of
his face covered in shadow. ANALYSIS GOOD AGAIN BUT NEEDS EDITING
Sound in this movie, non-diegetic sounds DESCRIBE THE NON_DIEGETIC SOUNDare used in crescendo to create suspense and then
sharply cut when the situation is back to normal. For instance, when Caleb uses his television
in the middle of the night and sees Ava in his screen (0:18:34). The non-diegetic sounds
increase loudly, up to a certain point, and then they are drastically interrupted with a diegetic
programmed voiced when the light turns red (0:20:05). The combination of the increasing
sounds emphasis the suspense of the unknown and a possible approaching danger.
It is not rare
throughout the movie that only the characters’ voices are being heard. No outside, background
music (non-diegetic sounds) are added, creating an intimate and intense atmosphere between
the characters. For instance, when Nathan explains the allusion??? of Ava with the Jackson Pollock’s
painting, we only hear the characters’ voices (0:49:07). This allows the audience to focus
distinctively on what is being said, since it is important, rather than being disrupted with
background noises. It emphasis the importance of the words.
An example of an interesting cinematographic technique in the movie is
showing the effect of an observing camera. In fact, in the first scene of the movie, when Caleb learns
about winning the staff lottery, the viewpoints from the cameras (phone camera
and computer camera) show coloured patterns and outline the surroundings. This demonstrates the capabilities
of technology and how it can observe and analyze people and its surroundings.
Different heat sensors are also shown through colours of green, yellow, red, and blue to
differentiate between the temperatures. This concept of colour in brought later in the movie as Caleb
cuts his veins in front of the mirror (1:14:21). He realises that the mirror is in fact a camera that is
recording him. These colours tell the audience that the mirror is scanning his facial
features to recognize the person in front to then be able to supervise him. The fact that they put
colours to image the fact that the camera is recording, and it is not a simple mirror, but rather a
spying tool to analyse behaviour is clearer and effective. GOOD ANALYSIS NEEDS GREATER CLARITY
Before every session between Caleb and
Ava is held, a black screen with the text “Ava session” and the number of what session it is appears.
This helps add the feeling that this is really an experiment being held and it feels like each session
is a chapter to the progress of Ava’s growth. GOOD
The process in using different costumes was thought out carefully for the film Ex Machina. Although
he is a billionaire, Nathan dresses up casually just like Caleb. As a viewer, you can’t really tell
who the employee is and who the employer is. This reflects Nathan’s simplicity ANALYZE DEEPER--MORE TO THIS. Ava’s clothes show
her imagination in manipulating Caleb. One of the examples is when she dresses up to make Caleb
more attracted to her, so that she could leave the laboratory with his help. And she succeeded. ALSO ABOUT BECOMING MORE HUMAN__DESCRIBE HOW SHE DRESSES
he is a billionaire, Nathan dresses up casually just like Caleb. As a viewer, you can’t really tell
who the employee is and who the employer is. This reflects Nathan’s simplicity ANALYZE DEEPER--MORE TO THIS. Ava’s clothes show
her imagination in manipulating Caleb. One of the examples is when she dresses up to make Caleb
more attracted to her, so that she could leave the laboratory with his help. And she succeeded. ALSO ABOUT BECOMING MORE HUMAN__DESCRIBE HOW SHE DRESSES
The use of
cross-cutting was found towards the end of the film during the scene where Ava sprints towards
Nathan. The scene cuts between Ava and Nathan in order to capture the sense of fear Nathan
experiences. It begins with Ava walking and then entering a sprint while also cutting towards
Nathan to present how he reacts to Ava’s rebellious actions. This was an effective way to convey fear
as it presents you with this humanoid robot, (who passed the uncanny valley for Caleb), chasing down
its creator with a calm expression that remains constant in a situation where a normal person normally
wouldn’t be calm as you see Nathan become more worried and frightened by the matter.
An example of a long take is used during the scene where Ava begins its “human transformation”
and applies a new arm and skin from the other models. This scene effectively allows the viewer to
understand Ava’s physical transformations as the long shot allows you to see Ava feeling and
experiencing this change slowly all the while time feels slowed down to reflect how Ava is taking in
the moment.
cross-cutting was found towards the end of the film during the scene where Ava sprints towards
Nathan. The scene cuts between Ava and Nathan in order to capture the sense of fear Nathan
experiences. It begins with Ava walking and then entering a sprint while also cutting towards
Nathan to present how he reacts to Ava’s rebellious actions. This was an effective way to convey fear
as it presents you with this humanoid robot, (who passed the uncanny valley for Caleb), chasing down
its creator with a calm expression that remains constant in a situation where a normal person normally
wouldn’t be calm as you see Nathan become more worried and frightened by the matter.
An example of a long take is used during the scene where Ava begins its “human transformation”
and applies a new arm and skin from the other models. This scene effectively allows the viewer to
understand Ava’s physical transformations as the long shot allows you to see Ava feeling and
experiencing this change slowly all the while time feels slowed down to reflect how Ava is taking in
the moment.
THEMES
Three universal themes that were present in the film where,
SEXISM--NATHAN's sexual exploitaiton of the robots, you could use waht is below but it has to be framed differently
HUMAN HUBRIS
world. When she manages to escape and kill her creator (Nathan) and Caleb, she steps out the man’s
shadow to experience the world for the first time as a women-like human being. She thus experiences
freedom and victory). (Anderson) As well as, Creating in our own image. This theme is developed
through the story in the conversations of Caleb and Nathan, and noted as well by titles on screen:
Day 1, Day 2, etc. It is like we are witnessing the first biblical story of creation in Genesis. Ava calls
herself 1, (there are two) and the ressemblesse of her name to Eve reinforces the connection the
Genesis creation myth. There is also the God talk: “If you’ve created a conscious machine, it is not the
history of man. That’s the history of gods.” (0.11.28) The irony here is that, instead of being ousted of
Eden for her mistake as in the biblical history. Ava”the creation” kills Nathan “God,” locks up Caleb
and leaves to begin Creation new… as her own God. (Myers)
MAN VS. MACHINE
this is a universal theme that we see everywhere. It is a theme that has a strong impact on the film Ex
machina. We see this theme being developed when Nathan creates an A.I machine and believes he can
play this God figure and combat the natural occurence of life by creating Ava. Nathan is this modern
man trying to beat and outsmart mother nature’s way of creating a real human.
SEXISM--NATHAN's sexual exploitaiton of the robots, you could use waht is below but it has to be framed differently
HUMAN HUBRIS
world. When she manages to escape and kill her creator (Nathan) and Caleb, she steps out the man’s
shadow to experience the world for the first time as a women-like human being. She thus experiences
freedom and victory). (Anderson) As well as, Creating in our own image. This theme is developed
through the story in the conversations of Caleb and Nathan, and noted as well by titles on screen:
Day 1, Day 2, etc. It is like we are witnessing the first biblical story of creation in Genesis. Ava calls
herself 1, (there are two) and the ressemblesse of her name to Eve reinforces the connection the
Genesis creation myth. There is also the God talk: “If you’ve created a conscious machine, it is not the
history of man. That’s the history of gods.” (0.11.28) The irony here is that, instead of being ousted of
Eden for her mistake as in the biblical history. Ava”the creation” kills Nathan “God,” locks up Caleb
and leaves to begin Creation new… as her own God. (Myers)
MAN VS. MACHINE
this is a universal theme that we see everywhere. It is a theme that has a strong impact on the film Ex
machina. We see this theme being developed when Nathan creates an A.I machine and believes he can
play this God figure and combat the natural occurence of life by creating Ava. Nathan is this modern
man trying to beat and outsmart mother nature’s way of creating a real human.
Word Count; (1374)
Regarding the film, its plot was very well developed. From the beginning of the movie, a “mind game”
begins to unfold after the first power cut. We learn from Ava that Nathan is not to be trusted and that
he “lies about everything”, but from what we know from Nathan, Ava is simply an advanced A.I. A
split occurs between Nathan and Ava and whether who should be trusted. Since the film initially begins
from the perspective of Caleb, an answer is never clear (until the end) and the viewer must experience
the twists and turns that Caleb goes through from his perspective, which from any other character’s
perspective, would be ruined. This mental warfare is not only a part of the story but also goes
alongside the themes and ideas of the film.
Through the character’s ways of tugging at trust, they raise
interesting points about A.I, consciousness and their role in the world. For example, Ava expresses
desires for freedom and to be with Caleb romantically. On the contrary, Nathan hints to Caleb (a third
idea) that Ava in fact does not love Caleb but is capable of and is lying.
Overall, this film deserves a
four out of five stars, not only for the plot, but also the characters that played each role. Actors were
realistic in their roles which made the audience believe they were the actual characters of the movie.
begins to unfold after the first power cut. We learn from Ava that Nathan is not to be trusted and that
he “lies about everything”, but from what we know from Nathan, Ava is simply an advanced A.I. A
split occurs between Nathan and Ava and whether who should be trusted. Since the film initially begins
from the perspective of Caleb, an answer is never clear (until the end) and the viewer must experience
the twists and turns that Caleb goes through from his perspective, which from any other character’s
perspective, would be ruined. This mental warfare is not only a part of the story but also goes
alongside the themes and ideas of the film.
Through the character’s ways of tugging at trust, they raise
interesting points about A.I, consciousness and their role in the world. For example, Ava expresses
desires for freedom and to be with Caleb romantically. On the contrary, Nathan hints to Caleb (a third
idea) that Ava in fact does not love Caleb but is capable of and is lying.
Overall, this film deserves a
four out of five stars, not only for the plot, but also the characters that played each role. Actors were
realistic in their roles which made the audience believe they were the actual characters of the movie.
Word Count; (293)
Course connections .
- STAY WITH ONE CONCEPT AND DEFINE IT AND MAKE THE CONNECTION TO THE FILM TIGHT AND SUPPORTED WITH EVIDENCEIn class we covered the concept of sentience and to what extent can animals or robots have consciousness. This concept was further extended as we tackled the component of self-aware self (being objective and evaluator of our own conscience). In Ex-Machina, the goal of the experiment was to determine, through observations and conversations, if Ava had consciousness and self-awareness as a robot. In this movie, the audience can assume that Ava has a “I” and is conscious about her “I”. Her artificial intelligence can be compared to human’s and characterized as elastic, since she can resolve problems, be ingenious, and think by herself.
- As discussed in class, in Ex-Machina, the concept of uncanny valley (area of repulsive aroused by a robot with appearance and emotion between “barely” and “fully human” entity) is developed. Since their first meeting, Caleb was amazed by the AI. But what made him empathizing with Ava was her appearance (human-looking), especially when she wore the clothes; you could barely distinguish whether Ava is an AI or a human being. This explains Caleb’s behavior because for him, it was like talking to another human being. The empathy approaches human-to-human levels. GOOD
- As talked about in class we covered this topic of sex robots and their implications in society and what it means to create a sex robot. As seen in Ex Machina, Nathan the main character creates all sorts of different robots, for sexual pleasure, each possing a different attributes that Nathan might find attractive or enjoyable. We are able to see this similarity of how in the real world this company creates these different sex robots for different desires for people. The video we watched in class, touches on many different parts of what having a sex robot does to you and the moral and social implications. Throughout the film and in the video and text we discussed in class, this idea of sex robots brings up this moral question of what, is it really right to own a machine that can give you the same sexual pleasures as a human does. As for the social part when having a sex robot like Nathan did for companion we see this man, Nathan lacking in social skills as the person whom he is sharing his life with is a robot, and the same can be said for that guy we saw in the video in class who had two different sex robots and one being his wife.
Word Count; (409)
Related Links.
- In this article, scientific officer Christof Koch is interviewed about consciousness and the possibility of Ai obtaining it too. The article begins by talking about Koch’s research regarding consciousness. It continues by answering certain questions: whether or not discovering the basis of consciousness will be dehumanizing, what kind of discoveries can we find and what kind of technology can we create using said discovery and can a computer also be conscious?
- In this article, written by Tabi Jackson Gee in 2017 it talks about the future of sex robots and the power they will have in your household and in your private sexual life. The article goes on to talk about, how women will be seen after these sex robots take over and can even replace the role of women. It continues to even discuss this idea that a man who is abusive, might continue having those same emotions even when dealing with a robot. This article covers this uncanny valley present when submitting a women for a A.I machine. As well it connects to Ex Machina as Nathan the main character was abusive and did not respect the A.I machines he created and took advantages, physically and mentally on them.
Word Count; (221)
Questions. 
- Do you think that Caleb “deserves” his end (death) ?
- In Ex-Machina, Caleb’s task was to test Ava and decide if she is capable of thoughts, consciousness and other human qualities. Before the end, he discovers that he was chosen because of his profile: orphan, single and Ava was created according to his porno profile. At the end, Ava passes the test by using empathy, self-awareness and imagination in manipulating Caleb as a means of escape. Do you think that Ava would have passed the test if Caleb had a completely different profile? (different from what he was).
- Throughout the film, both Nathan and Caleb represented two perspectives on how to treat Ai, which lead to both of them to their downfalls: as utilitarian machines to serve people or as beings equal to people, respectively. Which of these two perspectives, or a mix of both, do you believe people should follow?
Word Count; (150)
Works Cited YOU MUST PUT ALL THESE IN THE BODY OF THE TEXT AS IN-TEXT CITATIONS OTHERWISE ITS PLAGIARISM
Apple trailer. “Ex Machina.” Apple Trailers 2015,
https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/exmachina/
Anderson, Robert. “Theory of Ex Machina: A Deep Dive into the Themes of Ex Machina”
Story Screen, 2016,
http://www.storyscreenbeacon.com/single-post/2016/09/01/Theory-Ex-MachinaA-Deep-Dive-into-the-
Themes-of-Ex-Machina
Edelstein, David. “Ex Machina Appears Original, But Turns Formulaic Fast.” Vulture.com,
April 9th, 2015, http://www.vulture.com/2015/04/ex-machina-review.html
Gee, Tabi Jackson. “Why Female Sex Robots Are More Dangerous than You Think.”
The Telegraph,Telegraph Media Group, 5 July 2017,
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/female-robots-why-this-scarlett-johansson-bot-is-more-dangerous/.
The Telegraph,Telegraph Media Group, 5 July 2017,
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/female-robots-why-this-scarlett-johansson-bot-is-more-dangerous/.
Mazzanti, Mike. “ How the Control of Information in ‘Ex Machina’ Demands Attention.”
The Film Stage, January 12th, 2017,
https://thefilmstage.com/news/how-the-control-of-information-in-ex-machina-demands-attention/
Myers, Scott. “Movie Analysis: “Ex-Machina”-Themes.” Go into the story. (June 25, 2015)
https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/movie-analysis-ex-machina-themes-e7c2ab795b12
Regalado, Antonion. “What It Will Take for Computers to Be Conscious.” MIT Technology Review,
YouTube. “Trailer Ex Machina.” YouTube.com, October 30th, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYGzRB4Pnq8
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