Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Ex Machina was a vibrant little gem of a film that became a critical fave last spring. Ex Machina isn’t spellbinding because it’s an original piece of science fiction — the genre is replete with Turing tests and seductive androids and characters suffering under the weight of god complexes — but because it focused more on an intense emotional game of chess between three players. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is programmer who wins a corporate lottery to visit the home of his eccentric genius boss, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). When Caleb arrives at the estate, he discovers that he’s actually there to help Nathan determine if Ava (Alicia Vikander) is the first true example of Artificial Intelligence. The story exudes such electricity on the strength of these three performances.
Oh, and then there’s this killer dance scene that pops up out of nowhere halfway through the film:
Most fans and critics have noticed how the scene offers a welcome release in tension, but it’s also a crucial turning point in the plot. This is the moment when Caleb firmly lands on Ava’s side and begins to see Nathan as nothing more than a egotistical manipulator. Caleb sees Nathan’s impromptu dance with Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno) as a sign that he’s either mentally unhinged or consumed with nothing more than a desire to indulge his every fancy.
It’s unsettling for the young programmer to see, but what Caleb doesn’t see is that Nathan is more than just a dancer; he’s also the choreographer. Indeed Caleb might be able to understand the intricacies of code, but it’s Nathan who created the language. This is Nathan’s world and everyone else is just bumbling through it. Except, of course, Ava.
Ava is not present in this scene, but her presence overtakes it. She is at the forefront of Caleb’s concerns and the dance is meant to be an obvious diversion from the argument at hand. You’ll notice that the dance is also too carefully in sync to be as impromptu as it seems. Now, Nathan could be making it up at whim, but how would his creepily silent house servant know how to seamlessly keep time? The questions this raises should tip astute audiences off that not all is what it seems.
The dance scene has become a delightful emblem of the film and with good reason. Like a lot of what writer/director Alex Garland constructs in Ex Machina it’s a showy display meant to distract us from the disturbing reality at hand.
[Stream Ex Machina on Prime Video]
[Gifs by Jaclyn Kessel, copyright A24]
