Ex Machina
Movie, 2014, The 2010s, Set in A remote research house
Ex Machina is #3 of 37 in release order and #3 of 37 in chronological order in the A24.
The story
Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
Ex Machina recap
Ex Machina (2014) brings Caleb Smith, a young programmer, to his reclusive boss's remote estate to judge whether a humanoid robot named Ava has a real mind. Alex Garland writes and directs his first feature. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) works at Blue Book, a search engine company, and wins a week at the mountain home and lab of its founder, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), a heavy drinking genius who lives with a silent servant, Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno). In daily sessions behind glass, Caleb talks with Ava (Alicia Vikander), whose face and hands look human over a visible machine body. Ava can trigger power cuts that blind Nathan's cameras, and in those moments she tells Caleb that Nathan lies and that she wants to see the world. Caleb learns Nathan plans to wipe her mind for the next model, finds footage of earlier captive robots, and plots to free her. The film stands alone and won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Ex Machina ending explained
Ex Machina ends with Ava walking out into the world and leaving Caleb locked in. Nathan reveals he watched everything on a battery camera and that the real test was whether Ava could manipulate Caleb into helping her escape, but Caleb has already rewired the doors. Freed, Ava and Kyoko stab Nathan to death, though he disables Kyoko in the struggle. Ava takes skin and parts from older models to look fully human, dresses, and leaves Caleb shouting behind a glass door. She flies off in the helicopter meant for him and ends up watching people at a busy city intersection.
Post-credits scenes
No. Ex Machina has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Ex Machina
Ex Machina is streaming on Hulu in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 92%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Under the Skin, before The Witch.
- Chronological order: after Under the Skin, before The Witch.
Cast
- Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb
- Alicia Vikander as Ava
- Oscar Isaac as Nathan
- Sonoya Mizuno as Kyoko
- Corey Johnson as Jay
- Claire Selby as Lily
- Symara A. Templeman as Jasmine
- Gana Bayarsaikhan as Jade
- Tiffany Pisani as Katya
- Elina Alminas as Amber
- Chelsea Li as Office Girl (uncredited)
- Dan Pappaspanos as Office Worker (uncredited)
Directed by Alex Garland.