Ex Machina (film)

Ex Machina is a 2014 science fiction film, written and directed by Alex Garland in his directorial debut. It stars Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac. It follows a programmer who is invited by his CEO to administer the Turing test to an intelligent female humanoid robot.

Ex Machina premiered at the BFI Southbank on 16 December 2014. It was released in the United Kingdom on 21 January 2015, by Universal Pictures International, and in the United States on 10 April 2015, by A24. It grossed over $36.8 million worldwide on a $15 million budget.

Ex Machina received acclaim for its visual effects, screenplay and performances. At the 88th Academy Awards, it won Best Visual Effects and Garland was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. It earned five nominations at the 69th British Academy Film Awards, including Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Vikander and Best Original Screenplay for Garland, and Vikander was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards. Ex Machina has been cited as among the best films of the 2010s.

Plot

Caleb Smith, a programmer at the search engine company Blue Book, wins an office contest for a one-week visit to the luxurious, isolated home of the CEO, Nathan Bateman. Nathan lives there with an unspeaking servant named Kyoko, who, according to Nathan, does not understand English.

After Caleb reluctantly signs a non-disclosure agreement, Nathan reveals that he has built a humanoid robot named Ava with artificial intelligence. She has already passed a simple Turing test. He wants Caleb to judge whether she is genuinely capable of thought and consciousness as well as whether he can relate to Ava despite knowing she is artificial.