Alex Garland makes his directorial debut with his science fiction film, Ex Machina. Garland takes a step backward in storytelling, as far the extravagant, in order for the genre science fiction to take a step forward. In the world of film audiences have become accustomed to the excessive amount of big budget science fiction epics that Hollywood produces each year. With this tendency towards big budget films, there has been emphasis on action and what is visual stimulating rather than substance. Garland was clear with the budget he wanted to work with for Ex Machina, claiming that movies with bigger budgets can at times lose their vision. He feels strongly that this was the case on the film, Sunshine (2007), which was written by Garland (Baker). Alex Garland is not new to film and has written screenplays such as 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd. He is assertive when he says that the filmmaking process is nothing new to him, in fact he doesn’t even view directing as a new role for him. When asked about his switch to directing, Garland responded that “I just see it as film making. I don’t attach huge importance to directing.” (Flicks and the City). Garland see’s film making as something fluid, he doesn’t believe in titles restricting yourself to one role in making film. So according to his definition of “film making”, he has been apart of the process for 15 years now. For Garland, this Ex-Machina “debut”, wasn’t really a debut. And this certainly shows in the film, as it felt like it was made by a veteran of the game with immense style. A style that takes other filmmakers years to develop.
The film resonates a style that is reminiscent of David Fincher’s work. Each shot feels calculated with precision when considering the substance at hand. Although there is no showiness, the shots are simple in a way that creates for larger ideas. It is through this simplicity that Garland takes a commanding force and paces audiences through the movie, never letting them fully settle in. Garland sets the mood and tone within the first five minutes of the film, wasting no time at all. A following shot of Caleb watches him walk into Nathan’s estate from the vast nature around him. The camera follows him to the door but then stops when Caleb goes inside. Audiences watch as the door closes shut in front of them and the light outside it turns from blue to red. Immediately there is a feeling of no escape from whatever Caleb is walking into, this obviously becomes more evident later in the film. This beginning sequence also introduces two important motifs of the film. The symbolic use of color (especially blue and red), and the juxtaposition of nature and the artificial (Nathan’s Estate).
Most of Nathan’s Estate is made out of glass walls allowing the beautiful bare shots of nature to be in the frame while the characters interact inside. Nature represents freedom in this film, it’s Ava ultimate goal at the end of the chess board. As Caleb describes the difference between an A.I. and a human with the “Mary inside the black and white room” story, this becomes evident. It is only in nature, when Mary feels what it's like to see colors, does she become human. Nathan’s estate is an artificial source that created consciousness, while the lush outdoors is the natural source that created consciousness. Ava wants to be in the natural source to truly feel human. With the constant visual comparison of nature with Nathan’s claustrophobic estate the importance of the two opposites are clear with the theme of humanity in consideration. Another constant comparison seen throughout the film is between the colors blue and red.
In the very first scene Caleb is sitting at his desk wearing a blue and red shirt, immediately establishing this contrast. I think this shirt is used to demonstrate Caleb’s character. Throughout the history of storytelling colors have been used as a form of symbolic representation. Often blue is shown to represent a state of stability, while red shows a state of anger. Caleb’s red and blue shirt shows his complexity as a character with the duality of someone who is both angry and stable. This juxtaposition of characteristics also shows that Caleb is character who isn’t fully comfortable with himself, he holds a inner struggle within him. This all becomes very clear later on in the film when Caleb begins to question his own humanity and begins to make rash decisions based off his anger. It is his compassionate anger that eventually leads to his downfall, as Ava makes clear to him red is not his favorite color.
Blue is also a color known to represent trust. One would be keen to recognize Nathan’s company's name is Bluebook. A giant tech company (showing similarities to Google) that the general public trust in using, without knowing that Nathan is exploiting all their information. This concept of putting too much trust into giant tech companies like Bluebook is an unmistakable fear shown in the film. There is a fear of A.I.s established from the very beginning of the film where Garland uses a POV shot from Caleb’s phone showing it obtaining data on his face. Fear of A.I.s, questions of humanity, and the concept of duality are all themes introduced very early in the film by Garland. The skill to introduce such themes with subtle symbolic devices and later have them pay off with deeper meaning is lacking in Hollywood.
Garland explores his central themes later on in the film by continuing with different visual techniques. Much of the story is told in the seven “sessions” Caleb conducts with Ava, as a part of a turing test by Nathan’s request. But it is immediately clear that Ava is not the one being tested but it is in fact Caleb. Caleb is put in a glass box during their time together like a zoo animal. In their first session together Ava walks around the glass box observing Caleb as if he is a puzzle needing solving (which he is to Ava). Although Caleb is the actual test subject in the turing test, Ava and him take turns integrating one another in this game of information. Garland makes this clear by positioning the camera inside or outside of Caleb’s cube. If the camera is inside the glass box looking out at Ava, she is the one being interrogated. If the camera is outside this “looking glass” so to speak, then Ava is the one doing the interrogating.
These scenes are a constant mental tug-of-war powered by dialogue and deception. Garland is able to use simple but precise cinematography to let viewers know who is controlling this mental chess game between human and machine. In times where Caleb is controlling the conversation, Garland uses a low angled frame on Caleb and a high angled frame on Ava. The low angle frame on Caleb establishes a sense of power and the high angle frame on Ava creates a sense of submissiveness. He does the vice versa of this when Ava is in control, making Caleb appear the submissive. Whether she is being presented as obedient or aggressive how do we know if she is being genuine?
The concept of duality as a key aspect of humanity is central to this film and Garland is able to imply this with the use of reflections. Reflections through mirrors and glass are everywhere in this film but most prominent during Ava and Caleb’s sessions together. The use of reflections hints to viewers when Ava is being sincere and when she is being manipulative. When Ava’s face is reflected by the glass it is an implication of her being two-faced and deceptive. When Ava’s reflection doesn’t appear in the shot it is a moment of genuineness. Exemplifying this concept the best, is Ava and Caleb's third session together. When Caleb asks Ava where she would go if she wasn't trapped inside Nathan’s Estate, she replies “a traffic intersection.” When she speaks of going to the traffic intersection Garland uses an intimate medium close up, with no reflection. She then says that they can “go together”, and Garland uses a medium long shot, with Ava’s reflection central in the frame. We learn at the end of the film that she was being sincere when she said a “traffic intersection” is the first place she wanted to go. We also learn that she was lying when she said that her and Caleb could “go together”, as this turns out to not be the case. In order to win the game of chess presented in front of her she had to demonstrate duality, a key component of being human.
In the last ten minutes or so leading up to Ava at the traffic intersection, Garland brings his film to a close. But he doesn’t completely close the door, many ideas presented in the film are left open for interpretation. He brings these themes into speculation once again using visuals. Throughout the last ten minutes of the film there is only one word of spoken dialogue. There is no overriding spoken narrative at the end of the film trying to summarize to viewers what you just watch in the last hour and half in a couple of forced misplaced lines of dialogue. Garland does his reinforcing by showing his viewers instead of telling, a concept that feels fresh in the world of film at the moment. With little words being spoken there is a quiet ominous tone hanging over the film that we felt from the very beginning. The tone that Garland sets is perfect for exploring the complicated and frightening subjects he touches upon. It also gives more power and emphasize to the visuals he uses.
In the closing sequence we watch as Caleb stares at Ava through “the looking glass” one last time as she achieves her final deception. Ava is in the other room picking apart the closet of subjectified fembots for her own personal skin. The scene evokes a certain twisted sexaulity as an entranced Caleb watches Ava seductivily put on her new skin. She is once again deceiving him with her attractive feminine qualities. Ava’s face is reflected in the many mirrors surrounding her, illustrating her fraudulent actions. Caleb is so blinded by the spell that Ava has put on him that he does not question what is happening. Caleb then ultimately finds himself left behind by Ava in a room lit only by his favorite color, red. The choice to have the room be lit by the vibrant red light works as a visual reminder to the choices Caleb made, consequently putting him there. It is Caleb’s choice to follow his compassion and buried emotions rather than logic and reason (the characteristics of Caleb we are originally introduced to), that leads to his entrapment inside the estate. The visual representations throughout the film truly help with character development like in the case of Caleb. Visual representations also help in enforcing themes, like the concept consciousness and being human.
We watch as Ava steps into nature for the first time from Nathan's estate as a symbolic representation of her becoming human. She wears a white dress in the scene as she walks into sunlight. Garland uses white here as a representation of purity and innocence. She feels the warm sun on her mechanical body and truly embodies Mary in the black and white room, feeling something instead of just understanding it for the first time. Garland follows up this shot with Nathan trapped in the estate, realizing his soon demise. There is an eerie sense of horror and beauty in the comparison of Ava and Caleb’s end result. The horror of Caleb’s result, by Ava’s contriving, exemplifies her possessing knowledge in the black and white room. She was able to trick and deceive Caleb into loving her without ever feeling love herself. Ava feeling sunlight for the first time shows her attaining the knowledge that is only possible through the conscious experience. She posses all the qualities of a human, and in the last shot of her in the traffic intersection she is indistinguishable from any other human there. But we see her through a reflection just as a reminder that she is deceiving those around her. So is Ava human or machine? If machine, then are there any ethics when dealing with an A.I.?
These are the questions that Alex Garland is able to pose in his film Ex Machina. There is style amongst substance and complexity amongst simplicity. With the emphasize on visual storytelling through interactions rather than explosions, Garland is successful in developing an argument. He is able to prove himself as a visionary who can build a narrative with commanding precision using powerful visuals. Ex Machina brings something fresh to world of science fiction today similar to the impact of Blade Runner in the 80’s. In order for Garland to make an impact in the science fiction genre he had to take a step away from the norm and walk into the unusual, which he does with confidence in his directorial “debut”.
Works Cited
Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia. "'Ex Machina' Director Alex Garland Talks Gender and Artificial Intelligence." The Daily Dot. Daily Dot Geek, 08 May 2015. Web. Mar. 2016. <http://www.dailydot.com/geek/alex-garland-ai-ex-machina-oscar-isaac-dance-interview/>.
Flicks and the City. "Ex Machina Director Alex Garland Interview." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Mar. 2015. Web. Mar. 2016. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggMxhUU8rLI>.
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