'Ex Machina': One of 2015's best comes home
One of the year's most enthralling big-screen experiences comes home with the release of "Ex Machina," a sci-fi stunner from the writer of "28 Days Later" and "Sunshine."
Alex Garland makes his directorial debut with this tale of a computer programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) chosen by his company's visionary owner (Oscar Isaac) to conduct a unique experiment at his sprawling private estate. The subject: Ava (Alicia Vikander), an advanced android who breaks new ground in artificial intelligence.
Largely unknown to wide audiences, the actors take center stage in an intense, adult film that could have been overwhelmed by action and technobabble in less-skilled hands.
Isaac, who played the brooding singer in the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," is magnetic in a role that could be described as drunk, bearded Steve Jobs - he's brilliant, he's manipulative, he's almost certainly dangerous, but we can't take our eyes off him.
Gleeson and Vikander have tougher work to do, selling a budding romance of sorts between two people - er, one person and one robot - who shouldn't trust each other, let alone love each other. Vikander's performance is augmented by seamless digital effects that make the most of the film's reported $15 million budget.
The film's setting, a sterile, glass-encased home hidden in the wilderness, virtually serves as the film's fourth main character, a testament to the work by production designer Mark Digby and cinematographer Rob Hardy. This is a beautiful film to behold, even when some terrifying things begin to happen in the third act.
"Ex Machina" is available now on DVD and Blu-ray, and digitally from iTunes, vudu, Google Play.
Set your DVR ...
... for July 24's installment of PBS' "Great Performances," in which the Los Angeles Philharmonic plays a concert of music by famed film composer John Williams. It airs locally at 9 p.m. next Friday on WTTW Channel 11.
Hosted by actress Natalie Portman and conducted by the charismatic Gustavo Dudamel, the program includes pieces from "Catch Me If You Can," "Amistad" and "Fiddler on the Roof." Virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman joins the orchestra to play the haunting theme from Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List," and some very special guests show up for selections from the original "Star Wars" trilogy. (Speaking of which, you can see "Ex Machina" stars Isaac and Gleeson in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" this December.)
• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.