EX MACHINA

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE:  A+
Alicia Vikander, Domnhall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno
Written and Directed by Alex Garland
Rated R (Graphic nudity, Profanity, Sexual References and Some Violence)

If you've finally watched the trailer for "The Force Awakens" enough times that you need more to get you excited about it, here's something that ought to do it: the chance to see two of that film's stars acting together in a film that isn't like to make a fourth of the money that one will, but is very likely to go down in the annals of cinema as the science fiction film of 2015, and be toward the top of the list of films that gets undeservingly snubbed for a Best Picture nomination. In fact, Ex Machina is Gone Girl and Interstellar rolled into one, and it might be better than either of them.

Caleb (Gleeson), a young computer programmer, is randomly selected for the chance to spend a week at the home of Nathan Bateman (Isaac), a rich, reclusive genius and tech CEO. During this time, the only other resident of the home is Kyoko (Mizuno), Nathan's housemaid who speaks no English, which Nathan explains allows him to discuss confidential information and trade secrets without fear of leaking anything.

Nathan has a task for Caleb: to perform a "Turing Test" on a humanoid robot named "Ava" (Vikander) to determine if she is a true A.I. Through a series of sessions, Caleb will interview Ava and determine just how sentient she really is, at which point he will leave, and cannot breathe a word of this to anyone, having signed a strict non disclosure agreement.

Of course there is more going on here than meets the eye, but the less you know, the better. This is a fiercely intelligent and we'll crafted thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat during simple dialogue scenes in a way no action film will.

The performances are simply perfect. Isaac is easily one of the most engaging actors working today, and playing a character that is part John Hammond and part Ian Malcolm, he's fascinating to try to figure out, and wildly entertaining. Gleeson has a subtle nice guy quality that can really Cary a movie, and as for Vikander, the only two words that I can think of are Audrey Hepburn.

The movie is most certainly an homage to Stanley Kubrick, though there are elements of Truffaut, and it is true science fiction in the best sense of the term. Every aspect of the movie feels believable and plausible, yet mind blowing at the same time. This is a perfectly crafted art work and piece of entertainment that is going to become an instant cult classic, and writer director Alex Garland may be the next David Fincher, though he has certainly gotten off to a far better start than Alien 3.

Despite the off putting rating information, this really is not an exploitative film. It doesn't pull any punches, but in particular the nudity is very much important to the story and handled very tastefully and never feels lurid. There's really nothing that isn't there for a good reason.

When lists of the ten best films of 2015 start coming out, except to see "Ex Machina" appearing on the vast majority of them.