Ex Machina is a pleasure to watch

I'm a sucker for AI films, and I've been a student of the topic for most of my adult life.  I loved writer/director Alex Garland's 28 Days Later.  So, it's no surprise that, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I was very interested in going to see Ex Machina.  I was not, however, at all sure how I'd react to it.

To my happy surprise, I loved it.  The film is a tight little package that tightens slowly as it progresses, until you can feel the almost crushing pressure from it.  The plot is reasonable, and the outcome inevitable but not overblown.

The three main actors--Domhnall Gleeson, Corey Johnson, and Alicia Vikander--are all marvelous in different ways.  Gleeson plays the visiting programmer with an innocence and awkwardness that fits his character.  Johnson's billionaire software developer and company owner shows perfectly the effects of living too long in his own money-protected bubble.  Vikander is the best of the three, her expressions small but perfect, each small change in her face hitting just the right note.

I could say more, but I really don't want to tread into spoilers.

Do not miss this one.