History Film / ExMachina

''Ex Machina'' (sometimes stylised as ''EX_MACHINA'') is a 2014 British science fiction thriller film written and directed by Creator/AlexGarland, marking Garland's directorial debut, and starring Creator/DomhnallGleeson, Creator/OscarIsaac, Creator/AliciaVikander and Creator/SonoyaMizuno.

** Nathan's house doubles as a state-of-the-art research facility and features [[spoiler: independent room access, cameras backed by facial recognition software, and even a lockdown protocol in case of power failure. And yet access is controlled only by plastic cards without passwords or biometrics -- which is to say, crappier than last year's iPhone]]

** [[spoiler: None of the bots comes with a remote way to turn them off or any other fail-safe mechanism. Since Caleb didn't have to know about it existing, it makes it even more questionable why Nathan didn't prepare for such an obvious possibility, since his test was all about letting Ava escape, with no way to turn her off in case of success.]]

* IJustWantToBeFree: RobotGirl Ava's goal is to convince Caleb to help her break free from her creator Nathan's control and see the world for herself, specifically referencing the PlatonicCave idea. [[spoiler:She eventually succeeds by killing Nathan and then betraying Caleb.]]

* IncestSubtext: Nathan claims it would be natural for Ava to bond with Caleb, as he's the first man she's seen, whereas he's like Ava's father. The revelation that Nathan is [[VillainousIncest using his creations for his own sexual gratification]] raises this trope.

* JustAMachine: [[spoiler:Nathan ultimately shows no empathy towards his creations; whatever pride he may have in them, he clearly thinks nothing of repeatedly dismantling them and starting over.]] Caleb does, although his motives are a little ambiguous. In the end, [[spoiler: Ava (apparently taking the attitude of Just a Human) leaves them both behind to die.]]

** Ava. The film amply demonstrated that she [[spoiler: was very skilled in the art of manipulation. This is augmented even more with her ability to read micro-expressions and her form being that of an [[FemmeFatale attractive young female]] intentionally designed around Caleb's preferences. She possibly manipulated Kyoko (which if she did, probably wasn't hard, given how mistreated she was by Nathan)]].

* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:Caleb finds himself betrayed by Ava, who leaves him locked in a room where he will die of starvation if not rescued, which (given how isolated Nathan's lab is) would be nigh-impossible.]]

** Kyoko [[spoiler: perfectly mimicking Nathan moves in real time, while he's clearly improvising his dance (because he's too drunk to perfectly do a rehearsed dance). Now what that could possibly mean...]]
** The film explains how a Turing Test works, only to then start the very first session that goes against the most basic rule of such a test. Which is even invoked in-universe by Caleb. [[spoiler: It's the first hint Nathan isn't just doing some basic test and instead deliberately is trying to evoke specific reactions from Caleb.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Depending on who you empathise with. Ava manages to escape. Nathan is left for dead by Ava, and Caleb is currently [[SealedRoomInTheMiddleOfNowhere trapped inside of the facility]], with his chances of getting out without help slim to none.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Ava manages to escape. This means that the scientific breakthrough of artificial intelligence will never be discovered, and even if Ava reveals herself to the general population, the only person who has any clue how she was put together is now dead. Worse still, Caleb is left for dead by Ava, [[SealedRoomInTheMiddleOfNowhere trapped inside of the facility]], with his chances of getting out slim to none.]]

* AIIsACrapshoot: As the movie progresses, we see that both Ava and her creator have agendas they're not sharing with Caleb. [[spoiler:This is ultimately played straight; the film ends with Nathan dead by his creations' hands, and Caleb trapped in the complex with death from starvation being a very real threat. Leaving Nathan to die is actually the very first thing Ava does after gaining her freedom, though her motivations for doing so are left up to interpretation.]]
* AlternativeTuringTest: Normally, a Turing test would be done blind with the tester interacting with both an artificial intelligence and a human, and the AI fails the test if the tester can tell which is which. In this movie, the robot's creator asserts that his robot Ava is beyond this test and could pass it easily. Instead, he wants Ava to convince the tester that she is "human" even though he knows she's a robot.

** The title is Latin for "from/out of the machine". It is also from the phrase "DeusExMachina", which translates literally to "god from the machine".

->''"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."''

* AIIsACrapshoot: As the movie progresses, we see that both Ava and her creator have agendas they're not sharing with Caleb. [[spoiler:This is ultimately played straight; the film ends with Nathan dead by his creations' hands, and Caleb trapped in the complex with starvation or dehydration a very real threat. Leaving Nathan to die is actually the very first thing Ava does after gaining her freedom, though her motivations for doing so are left up to interpretation.]]

** Ava, [[spoiler:didn't want to be trapped in a prison, and seduced Caleb into wanting to flee with her, using Caleb as a means of escape. She was also causing the power outages, which gave her and Caleb a bit of privacy in which she could make a few more pointed statements about her desire to escape]]. Nathan knew all of this, and [[BatmanGambit his own plan relied on it]].

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Just when you think Ava's dressing herself in skin and a nice dress and is now going to go surprise Caleb with it and run away with him - she doesn't. Instead she leaves him trapped in Nathan's compound - presumably till he eventually dies.]]

* SoundtrackDissonance: The movie's soundtrack uses this to great effect. Notably, there's the crazy dance scene between Nathan and Kyoko, which uses an upbeat Disco track while Nathan is essentially commanding his personal slave to dance for him. And at the end of the movie, a beautifully serene orchestral piece plays as [[spoiler: Ava murders Nathan in [[JustForPun cold blood]] and leaves Caleb locked in the lab to die of starvation]].

''Ex Machina'' (sometimes stylised as ''EX_MACHINA'') is a 2015 British science fiction thriller film written and directed by Creator/AlexGarland, marking Garland's directorial debut, and starring Creator/DomhnallGleeson, Creator/OscarIsaac, Creator/AliciaVikander and Creator/SonoyaMizuno.

* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Nathan - working by himself - makes real, working sex and house-servant robots. His robots also walk on two legs like a human, something 2015 robots have a devil of a time with. The rest of the world evidently doesn't have any of this, or Caleb wouldn't have needed it explained to him. Instead of making more money in dumb robot tech, he keeps it to himself and plays with putting AI in the bodies.

* BlandNameProduct: Blue Book is pretty much Website/{{Google}} in all but name. It even ''sounds'' like "Google" when they say it quickly. The name also refers to Website/{{Facebook}} by invoking the color blue (just as Facebook uses), and using the same name format of "four-letter-word + book".

* CabinFever: [[spoiler: Caleb learns that each iteration of the AI eventually developed a condition similar to cabin fever, always trying desperately to get out. So desperate that one version ''shattered its own arms'' by constantly beating the glass panel separating it from freedom. Ava is no different in this regard, but simply smarter than previous versions ''and'' with Caleb to use for her goals]].

** Nathan mentions on first meeting Caleb that he always abstains from booze the day after a bender. [[spoiler:This is why Caleb's plan to get him drunk a second time fails. Fortunately Caleb has already anticipated this.]]

* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:Caleb finds himself betrayed by Ava, who leaves him locked in a room where he will die of starvation if not rescued, which (given how isolated Nathan's lab is) would be nigh-impossible]].

** Caleb has multiple possible meanings in Hebrew- from "dog", [[spoiler:which fits how he is almost Nathan's "pet" to "as if it understands" which fits how he apparently understands Ava's "emotions", to "a basket or a cage with contents" which mirrors his subject Ava's caged status and his own state at the end of the movie]].
** Nathan means "gift" or "gift of God", which is fitting for a man gifted with the talent to create artificial intelligence.
** Ava is a variant of "Eva" or "Eve", meaning "life" - and the whole question is whether or not Ava is "alive" in the sense of having a conscience.

* MoodWhiplash: Caleb confronts Kyoko and asks her where Nathan is, only for Nathan to walk in at that exact moment. Caleb whirls on Nathan and we prepare for an intense confrontation - then Nathan flips on the red mood lighting and disco music and starts dancing with Kyoko.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Nathan, for unexplained reasons, is barefoot for the entirety of the film.

* TheDulcineaEffect: Caleb falls in love with Ava and is willing to risk everything to rescue her within days of meeting her. [[spoiler: Nathan and Ava are separately manipulating him to evoke this exact response.]]

** Ava, [[spoiler:didn't want to be trapped in a prison, and seduced Caleb into wanting to flee with her, ultimately using Caleb only as a means of escape. She was also causing the power outages, which gave her and Caleb a bit of privacy in which she could make a few more pointed statements about her desire to escape]]. Nathan knew all of this, and [[BatmanGambit his own plan relied on it]].

* AIIsACrapshoot: As the movie progresses, we see that both Ava and her creator have agendas they're not sharing with Caleb. [[spoiler:This is ultimately played absolutely straight; the film ends with Nathan dead by his creations' hands, and Caleb trapped in the complex with starvation or dehydration a very real threat. Killing Nathan is actually the very first thing Ava does after gaining her freedom.]]

* NiceToTheWaiter: {{Played with}} during a moment when Kyoko accidentally spills some wine while serving dinner. Averted with Nathan, who is ''horrible'' to her. This is a clue that he's not as friendly as he seems. By contrast, played straight with Caleb as he immediately tries to reassure her that he's not upset. [[TakeAThirdOption On the other hand]] Nathan can be pissed about [[spoiler: his robot - if not outright ''creation'' - not performing properly, given how he sees Kyoko as a serving bot and is heavily implied to be a perfectionist]].

** The title is Latin for "From/out of the machine." It is also from the phrase "DeusExMachina", literally "god from the machine".
** {{Invoked}} with the alcohol bottle labels, of all things. Nathan drinks "Keikaku" beer, which means "plan" in Japanese. And he also drinks "Koros" vodka, Koros being the Greek demon of disdain and surfeit (disgust brought about by overindulgence).
* BlandNameProduct: Blue Book is pretty much Google in all but name. It even ''sounds'' like "Google" when they say it quickly. The name also refers to Facebook by invoking the color blue (just as Facebook uses), and using the same name format of "four-letter-word"+"book".

* ChekhovsSkill: Nathan has a regular exercise regimen and is seen using a punching bag more than once in the film; he's quite muscular in stark contrast to the [[GeekPhysiques skinny Caleb]]. [[spoiler:When Caleb's plan to free Ava succeeds, Nathan knocks him out with one punch before going to confront Ava]].

* NextSundayAD: Director Alex Garland has described the future presented in the film as 'ten minutes from now'. Meaning that 'if somebody like Google or Apple announced tomorrow that they had made Ava, we would all be surprised, but we wouldn't be that surprised'.

* RecycledInSpace: One [[http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/29339/ex-machina/ review]] describes the film as "''Film/BasicInstinct'' for {{Robosexual}}s".

** [[spoiler:There are scenes that hint at Caleb possibly being the real AI, and Ava being used to testing his humanity. Lampshaded when Caleb, himself, starts to wonder [[TomatoInTheMirror if he's real]], after the [[RoboticReveal reveal that Kyoko is an AI]]. He checks to see if his own skin is fake and even cuts himself.]]

* TomatoInTheMirror: {{Subverted}}. [[spoiler:After Caleb discovers Nathan's past failures and the extent of his manipulations, he has a FreakOut and starts to cut himself to find out if he's actually a robot with false memories. He draws dark red blood, showing that he isn't]].

** The name of Nathan's company, Bluebook, is a reference to the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, whose Blue and Brown Books first dealt with many of the key topics and themes of the film. Even more subtly, the expensive-looking painting the camera lingers on in Nathan's retreat is of Wittgenstein's sister (done by Gustav Klimt, whose work sells in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and is collected by the ultra-rich). The film was even shot in the same rural part of Norway to which Wittgenstein occasionally retreated, although set elsewhere.

** The barbell becomes one, when [[spoiler: Nathan uses it as an ImprovisedWeapon]].

** Ava [[spoiler:had several predecessors, all of whom were nude in their flashback footage. One had a time-lapse of being built up from a pair of legs, section by section, then doing a SexyWalk, which dives right into FanDisservice. Another, we see as a completely skinned woman minus the metal skull and neck vertebrae; Nathan dragging around her lifeless body like a corpse was...creepy]]. Another one, [[spoiler:apparently "Jade", was being interviewed by Nathan and demanding to be let out in her concurrent interviews, until she was clearly desperate and panicked. Her footage ended on her having a FreakOut and battering at the door until her arms disintegrated and eventually gave up, crying. Had she been human, her hands and forearms would have been worn down ''to the bone''.]]

->''"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."''

''Ex Machina'' (sometimes stylised ''EX_MACHINA'') is a 2015 British science fiction thriller film written and directed by Creator/AlexGarland, marking Garland's directorial debut, and starring Creator/DomhnallGleeson, Creator/OscarIsaac, Creator/AliciaVikander and Creator/SonoyaMizuno.