Traditionally speaking, January is considered the dumping ground in cinematic circles; a proverbial graveyard in which studios send projects that are deemed to be not up to scratch. Films such as Contraband and The Devil Inside are perhaps the most notable examples of late, but with the wholly rebooted The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Paul Thomas Andreson’s Inherent Vice and Ex Machina on course to release in January, 2015, this year could very well be the exception.
The latter of which is certainly one that’s peaked our interest. Coming by way of Alex Garland — British screenwriter behind 28 Days Later and 2012’s beloved Dredd reboot — Ex Machina is an existential thriller that centres around artificial intelligence and, thanks to Swedish website Moviezine, we now have our first look at Alicia Vikander’s A.I. character.
Ex Machina also stars two actors that currently have roles in another in-development sci-fi that goes by the name of Star Wars: Episode VII. That pair in question are Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac — who are poised to play a genius coder and filthy rich business man, respectively. Essentially, the pair will test out the female robot, though her untainted innocence raises a series of philosophical questions.
Without doubt, Garland’s directorial debut is shaping up to have a lot of potential. In forgoing the typical conventions of the genre — i.e. space battles and lavish CG effects — Ex Machina places an emphasis on the key questions of human life and whether or not we can coexist with sentient A.I. Here’s hoping the final product delivers on its promise.
Ex Machina will be released on January 23rd in the UK, with a North American date expected to be announced soon.