Ex Machina (2015) ft. Shane Rogers
- Thomas Duncan
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
Guest:
Shane Rogers
Comedian and Host of Midnight Facts for Insomniacs
Previously on Broadcast News (1987), The Big Lebowski (1998), Superman: The Movie (1978), There's Something About Mary (1998), This Is Spinal Tap (1984).
Cast:
Alex Garland, Writer/Director
Rob Hardy, Cinematographer
Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, Music
Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb Smith
Oscar Isaac as Nathan Bateman
Alicia Vikander as Ava
Sonoya Mizuno as Kyoko
Background:
Ex Machina was released in the United States on April 10, 2015.
On a budget of $15 million, the film would gross roughly $37.3 million worldwide to finish #163 at the global box office for 2015.
Many critics loved the film thinking it a well-crafted and engaging sci-fi movie, and scores of them placed it in their Top 10 of the year lists for 2015.
Ex Machina was nominated for two Academy Awards: best original screenplay (Garland) and it won Best Visual Effects.
Ex Machina currenlty holds a 92% among critics on RT, a 78 score on Metacritic, and a 4/5 on Letterboxd.
Plot Summary: Ex Machina is a cerebral sci-fi thriller written and directed by Alex Garland. The story follows Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a young programmer who wins a company contest to spend a week at the secluded estate of his reclusive boss, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a brilliant but eccentric tech CEO. Upon arrival, Caleb learns he has been selected to participate in a Turing test for Ava (Alicia Vikander), an advanced AI housed in a humanoid robot. As Caleb interacts with Ava, he becomes emotionally entangled with her, questioning whether she truly possesses consciousness—or if he is being manipulated. Meanwhile, Nathan’s true motives remain elusive, and the line between man, machine, and deception blurs in a tense psychological battle that builds to a chilling climax.
Did You Know:
The title derives from the Latin phrase "Deus Ex-Machina," meaning "a God from the Machine," a phrase that originated in Greek tragedies. An actor playing a God would be lowered down via a platform (machine) and solve the characters' issues, resulting in a happy ending.
The location of the house in the movie is the Juvet Landscape Hotel in Norway.
Oscar Isaac said he based his characterization of Nathan on Bobby Fischer and Stanley Kubrick, who he sees as mysterious, elusive geniuses. The now iconic look of the latter also served as an inspiration for his beard.
When Nathan is about to pass out from drinking, he's reciting a scripture from the Hindu Gita: "...In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame, the good deeds a man has done before defend him." According to the J. Robert Oppenheimer book "American Prometheus," Oppenheimer translated and recited that poem a few days prior to a failed explosive test.
In an earlier draft of the screenplay, Nathan reveals to Caleb that he has no idea if his Jackson Pollock painting is authentic. Nathan states that he purchased the original painting and used it to fabricate a perfect replica, after which he then selected one of the paintings at random and burned it.
Best Performance: Domhnall Gleeson (Caleb)/Oscar Isaac (Nathan)/Alex Garland (Writer/Director)
Best Secondary Performance: Oscar Isaac (Nathan)/Alex Garland (Writer)/Domhnall Gleeson (Caleb)
Most Charismatic Award: Domhnall Gleeson (Caleb)/Oscar Isaac (Nathan)/Alicia Vikander (Ava)
Best Scene:
Arrival
First Night
Session 4
Dancing with Kyoko
Endgame
Epilogue
Favorite Scene: Dancing with Kyoko/Endgame/First Night
Most Indelible Moment: Endgame
In Memorium:
Patty Maloney, 89, American actress (Star Wars Holiday Special, Far Out Space Nuts, The Little Rascals)
Lee Montague, 97, English actor (The Camp on Blood Island, Deadlier Than the Male, Jesus of Nazareth)
Denis Arndt, 86, American actor (Heisenberg, Basic Instinct, S.W.A.T.)
Sian Barbara Allen, 78, American actress (Scream, Pretty Peggy, The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, You'll Like My Mother)
Val Kilmer, 65, American actor (Top Gun, Tombstone, Batman Forever, Heat)
Best Lines/Funniest Lines:
Nathan: One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction.
Nathan: It's Promethian, man.
Ava: Isn't it strange, to create something that hates you?
Caleb: Did you design Ava's face based on my pornography profile?
Caleb: You hacked the world's cell phones?
Nathan: Yeah. And all the manufacturers knew I was doing it, too. But they couldn't accuse me without admitting they were doing it themselves.
Nathan: Ava was a rat in a maze. And I gave her one way out. To escape, she'd have to use self-awareness, imagination, manipulation, sexuality, empathy, and she did. Now, if that isn't true AI, what the fuck is?
Caleb: If you've created a conscious machine, it's not the history of man. That's the history of gods.
Nathan: You know, I wrote down that other line you came up with. The one about how if I've invented a machine with consciousness, I'm not a man, I'm a God.
Caleb: I don't think that's exactly what I...
Nathan: I just thought, "Fuck, man, that is so good." When we get to tell the story, you know? I turned to Caleb and he looked up at me and he said, "You're not a man, you're a God."
Caleb: Yeah, but I didn't say that.
Caleb: Some people believe language exists from birth. And what is learned is the ability to attach words and structure to the latent ability.
Nathan: It's funny. You know. No matter how rich you get, shit goes wrong. You can't insulate yourself from it. I used to think it was death and taxes you couldn't avoid, but it's actually death and shit.
Nathan: There you go again. Mr. Quoteable.
Caleb: [talking about ending the project] It's not up to me...
Ava: Why is it up to anyone?
The Stanley Rubric:
Legacy: 5.17
Impact/Significance: 4.67
Novelty: 7.5
Classic-ness: 7.83
Rewatchability: 6.83
Audience Score: 8.55 (85% Google, 86% RT)
Total: 40.55
Remaining Questions:
Does Caleb die in the house?
Does Ava simply blend in or have bigger plans in the world?
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