Ex Machina (2015, dir. Alex Garland)

Alex Garland's "Ex Machina" is a visceral exploration of artificial intelligence.  In the film, a talented young programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) wins a chance to spend time investigating a breakthrough invention in the form of a female cyborg named Ava (Alicia Vikander).  She has been created by an eccentric scientist named Nathan (Oscar Isaac) in his impressive home and laboratory somewhere in a distant, isolated locale.  Nathan is Caleb's boss at a search engine website called "BlueBook" that the viewer learns is the most popular search engine in the world.

I was impressed with the performances in this film.  The real revelation is Vikander.  Her Ava possesses a dual nature that offers an ambiguous mixture of human and cyborg qualities.  There is never any doubt as to her cyborg nature but, at the same time, Vikander's performance lends just enough humanity to Ava for the viewer to sometimes second guess him or herself.

There is a goldmine of thematic subtext to the film as well.  There is a neofeminist critique as well as commentaries on morality, good vs. evil, and loneliness.

I was left somewhat unsettled at the end of the film.  It was a little too abrupt and unresolved for my liking.  But the film is still a riveting sci-fi drama with original ideas.