Ex Machina Film Analysis

Ex Machina is one of, if not, the most revolutionary Sci-Fi movie of this generation. Directed by Alex Garland, the film tackles an increasingly controversial and ethical issue about modern humanity’s dependence on technology; the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a young programmer at fictional Google-esque company, Bluebook, wins a competition to spend a week with the company’s reclusive CEO, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). Upon arrival, Caleb discovers he is to be the human component to a Turing test; his role is to determine whether Ava (Alicia Vikander), an AI system developed by Nathan, can exhibit human-like consciousness. Garland’s mastery of suspense elicits a huge range of different emotions in the viewers’
Director Alex Garland adroitly manipulates the views and opinions of the audience through his use of various film techniques. Throughout the film, suspense is utilised to affect the audience’s opinions of both the storyline and the characters themselves. By building up this suspense, Garland can entice the viewers to the edge of their seats and arouse their uttermost curiosity. Additionally, a wide range of camera angles are utilised to elicit many different emotions in the audience. Close-up camera shots are used when the audience is encouraged to empathise with a character, while longer shots are utilised to promote the sense that the viewer is seeing the scene through another’s eyes as opposed to their own. Finally, by utilising the brightness, position, and colour of the lighting in Ex Machina, Garland influences and engineers the views of the audience by using red lights to create dramatic, suspenseful scenes; natural lighting to force the audience to associate the scene with safety; and dim lighting to indicate uncertainty. Through the clever use of three primary film techniques, the views and opinions of the audience are