In his directorial debut, writer Alex Garland mixes simple storytelling with high concepts such as artificial intelligence, sexuality and data retention to make a powerful beautiful film. The combination of beautiful images and insanely good acting and you make a definite impact with your first film.
Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a programmer for a popular search engine known as Bluebook. One day Caleb wins a prize of going to stay with his elusive boss Nathan (Oscar Isaac) for a week. Once he gets there, Caleb discovers that his true purpose is to conduct a Turing test on Ava (Alicia Vikander), a female robot created by Nathan that will change artificial intelligence forever. It is when Caleb discovers that Nathan brought him there for darker reasons than he thought, Caleb starts to question what exactly is going on.
Garland's story is very slow-burning, but at the same time your attention is being held completely. The simple narrative of two men and a robot is engaging, as Ava plays Nathan and Caleb off of one another. Indeed the changing relationship and power balance the two men go through is a remarkable thing to watch. Caleb enters this world vulnerable, but once he thinks he learns everything there is to know, his perceived power in his relationship with Nathan is fundamentally changed.
The very topical subject of mass surveillance is being looked at here, as Ava's programming allows her to get her intelligence from looking at what everyone is searching for on the internet. This multiplies the idea of people looking at what we are doing in the digital world by having a single all knowing machine looking at our digital footprints. Garland also examines the idea of programmed sexuality in humans via a scene between Caleb and Nathan. They discuss the idea of sexuality being inherently programmed into humans, so it doesn't matter if you are hetero- or homosexual, this is something that you are born with. This arises when Caleb confronts Nathan and asks whether he programmed Ava to be attracted to Caleb.
This film looks incredible. Cinematographer Rob Hardy has crafted some exceptional shots both of interiors and exteriors. Everything from forests to mountaintops looks so enticing and clear, but it is Hardy's use of lighting and colour in Nathan's underground facility that truly standout. The colour scheme draws heavily from the RGB scale and the predominant colours in each location are red, green and blue. In scenes where the facility goes into lockdown, the interior is bathed in foreboding red light that mutes out every other colour. In certain pivotal scenes, Hardy also employs a fisheye lens to great effect. The bending of the image adds a certain surreal feeling to these scenes.
The three central performances in this film are just so superb, each feeding into the other to make this film entirely collaborative. Domhnall Gleeson's Caleb is just so naïve of the situation that he is in and thinks he has complete control the entire time, but should really be trusting no one. His confused looks throughout the film are completely warranted as the unique situation he is in would be a new one for anybody. Oscar Isaac makes his character deep and intriguing whilst, not giving away any of his inner feelings. I feel as though Nathan has a complex past but I am happy not knowing what it is at all. Alicia Vikander ties it all together with her nuanced performance of Ava. She moves fluidly, but there are still some subtle movements she makes that are not entirely human. Sonoya Mizuno adds a great supporting character as a mute robot.
All up Alex Garland's first feature is a massive success. It offers a look at the near future the same way Spike Jonze did with Her, one that is not entirely implausible. I think the take away message from this film is that there may already be robots living among us.
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