Alicia Vikander & Domhnall Gleeson on Ex Machina | Film4 Interview Special

Director Alex Garland and stars Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander talk about making the Film4-backed sci-fi thriller.
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#Film4 #ExMachina #Interview

[@Ascended._]

I don't blame Caleb falling for Ava because I did too lol.

[@Daniela-gc2df]

That was the director's intention. The viewer was meant to fall in love with Ava along the way. That's why the ending makes you feel so shitty, because you realize she was only programmed to emulate compassion/empathy solely for her own objective.

[@SaiF290]

Daniela Carballo lol i felt for caleb, i guess this is a part of the reason why (the actress is so beautiful too)

[@Novi107]

Dani McFanny Somewhat like the real thing, right?

[@Daniela-gc2df]

Jonathon Oday Someone's had a rough breakup hahaha.

[@ToStand2]

+Daniela the ending makes sense now

[@lim0nplays45]

Alex Garland, I take my hat off to you, great movie.

[@jayjayvalentin2675]

Agus Tin Is this movie like Robocop in a certain way?

[@lim0nplays45]

Jay jay valentin It's a philosophical movie about AI

[@jayjayvalentin2675]

Agus Tin Alright cool I get it now!

[@johnnycage6729]

Agus Tin It's was alright. It's a very slow, preachy (almost cliche) movie. The acting wasn't very good, and the ending was anti-climactic.

[@MrJisoe]

Johnny Cage I thought the acting was incredible

[@b00m13]

Alicia/Ava, she's so beautiful, even without hair or w/e That's not easy to do.

[@DonkeyKongPow]

Yeah I agree, make up also helps...

[@eduardogabriel1999]

Alicia Vikander is to me the most gorgeous actress in Hollywood

[@elizabethblack3863]

She has a child like innocent quality that's very endearing, plus she's super pretty.

[@XFS540]

Not a bad choice.

[@ValiantKnight7983]

This film was so beautifully made. Everything they talk about here worked, everything they said they were attempting to do within the film was successful. We really did feel what Caleb felt. This is definitely one of my all-time favorites.

[@brianjanson3498]

I've seen it twice at the theater and I very rarely do that. If you miss this on the big screen you are cheating yourself. This is a brilliant piece of cinema.

[@cup_and_cone]

The film was only shot in 2K. Big screen isn't paramount for this film.

[@cup_and_cone]

Jason T. Regardless of what the CineAltas can shoot, the master format was only 2k digital intermediate.

[@GynoPrince]

thechosendude what was the reason for them filming it in 2k?

[@cup_and_cone]

Gyno Morph They could've just as easily filmed it in 4k. There would be no difference in the filming process; they had 4k capable cameras. The reason they formatted 2k is probably because of all the CGI involved with Ava's character; she has a lot of screentime. It's easier/quicker/cheaper working with 2k than 4k in editing, and this was not a particularly big budget film.

[@rubiksweekly]

brian janson I disagree. Big screen is awesome in films that have incredible sound design and large scores, but the overall computer/TV experience is much more intimate.

[@BrockAband]

When she was putting on her skin I was thinking "wait am I seeing her nude or is that just robot skin" that's how much the movie made me believe she was a machine lol.

[@epictetus9221]

Indeed! That was a key scene in many ways.

[@sarahlevine2397]

i didnt even think about that wow

[@drake1896]

She is a machine? Wdym

[@ManyDoors777]

This movie blew me away. It was amazing....

[@mrboni5]

I fell in love with Ava, but she betrayed us :'/

[@drakejohnson2607]

When my tear ducts give issue, I can't use just any tissue! I need 4 PLY, 4 PLY, 4 PLY when I cry! HUH!!

[@PostersGamingg]

+Bonifilio Soto That was the purpose

[@ofri75]

+Bonifilio Soto - haha, she sure did... But I think it was a wise decision (of the director) - after all, she's a robot, without real feelings...she just had a motive, and manipulated for achieving it.

[@philipschrute8487]

Same lol. But after all she's still a robot

[@phapnui]

Bible myth of Adam and Eve, no coincidence.

[@veerchasm1]

One of the truly great Sci-Fi films of the last 20 years

[@afrimafrim2356]

Wow the fake american accents were very well done. Usually it's painfully obvious when they're fake - even in some big films..but not this one.

[@RixMorales]

Yeah I just thought that. I knew Alicia was English but I didn't know Domnhall is English too. They lost all their native accent in the movie

[@phelimmckeown1816]

Rix Morales , Alicia is Swedish and Domnhall is Irish.

[@costco_pizza]

Typically british actors are well trained and actually know how to mimic american accents. American actors are terrible at doing other accents. I absolutely hate it when I see a movie with a fake russian accent or british accent.

[@Pric3less1]

@Web Content In the film Caleb states to Ava that he is from New York. Judging by Nathan's accent and demeanor I think it's safe to say that he is American as well since he hand picked Caleb from his building in NYC to commence the turing test at his estate in Norway. Nathan being American and all, I would suggest is the reason why Ava has an American accent since he is her creator. Of course he could have easily programmed her to have any accent for that matter.

[@sofiarandal7376]

@@RixMorales she's Swedish not English btw

[@aftermath4096]

" If you've created a conscious machine, it's not the history of man, that's the history of gods " such a sick line one of the best lines I've ever heard in a movie

[@alexman378]

“He looked up to me and said ‘You’re not a man, you’re a god’” Nathan was fond of the line too 😜

[@Maetiks]

Alicia Vikander is so gorgeous and extremely talented.

[@michaelprarie5117]

Alicia Vikander steals every scene with her spot-on, haunting performance. I would have been helpless around her. The ghost in the machine modern mythology pokes it's head up once more. Why are we fascinated with this concept? Ex Machina 2 will be made. You can bet on it.

[@Sektion9]

Michael Prairie I can only hope for a sequel... with Mr. Gleeson making an appearance and Alex Garland at the helm. There's so much potential for something just as mind blowing.

[@SuperDuperSentinel]

Michael Prairie Wow....I really hope not. I think the film works better with ambiguity. Everything that had to be said was already said. Making a sequel would either rehash the original or dilute the impact of the original. I like how the character motifs are morally grey and how their fates are kept uncertain

[@alfischer3851]

SuperDuperSentinel There have been a number of good courtroom movies over the years.Inherit the Wind,To Kill A Mockingbird. A trial movie with the defense based on Ava's humanity might be interesting.And Gareland, feel free to steal that idea. :-)

[@Sektion9]

Al Fischer Great idea. I had a fantasy that she would be smuggled out of the U.S. through a computer network only to re-appear in Japan where she would blend in as say....Kyoko, knowing the Japanese have pro A.I. rights. etc. etc. Every country would want her to seek asylum in theirs, so it becomes an arms race for the first country or corporation to control A.I.

[@elijahblood6055]

Michael Prairie In the movie she's not acting - that's how Alicia is in real life - cold blooded lonely, self centered manipulator. This interview is a total act though...

[@StewartFletcher]

What a a fantastic, criminally under-performing, under-appreciated film that gave us 3 superb performances and a deeper look into ourselves, our future, and our inventions.

[@theunspokentruth5987]

I'd say 4 with kyoko 😊

[@KasumiRINA]

Do people pretend the fourth character doesn't exist because she doesn't speak?

[@StewartFletcher]

@@KasumiRINA probably because she isn't central to the plot, played by a famous actor, or relevant to the storytelling. That would be my guess

[@lewstone5430]

@Stewart Fletcher Kyoko was relevant to the storytelling as she was the first to stab Nathan and likely saved Ava allowing her to escape.

[@BittermanAndy]

@@StewartFletcher I think you might need to watch the film again if you think Kyoko is not central to the plot or relevant to the storytelling.

[@wiptide]

Who else was watching Alicia closely making sure she is not a robot?

[@unconvincingrebel]

Nice try AVA, you're not fooling me. You got out became an actor and made a movie about what you really are in an attempted double bluff should questions be raised about you not sleeping and your electricity bill being suspisiously high.

[@nicholasethan7730]

instablaster...

[@eppiechan5673]

So, this is an autobiography of AVA indeed. 🤔

[@alexman378]

She was technically an actress within the movie too, playing a character to emotionally manipulate her audience (Caleb)

[@Sektion9]

If this doesn't win an oscar for directing i'm going to chill out and know that the oscars are obsolete.

[@brianjanson3498]

+Sektion9 It should win Best Original Screenplay for Alex Garland and Best Actress for Alicia Vikander. And it should garner many other nominations. If it doesn't win these two Oscars, I'll tune out.

[@davidlean1060]

+Sektion9 Well, he probably won't, but don't worry. if he keeps making films like this, he may win one eventually. Besides, as good as this film is, I would personally freak out if he won one before Paul Thomas Anderson.

[@davidlean1060]

Josef Hautala I think Garland is good, but in fairness, he hasn't earned 'great' yet and besides, that was said with tongue in cheek, not that I have to explain myself to you. ps, be careful, your keyboard will run out of question and exclamation marks the way you go though them...that's more tongue in cheek, seeing as you missed it the first time.

[@KillerZeli]

+Sektion9 He is probably going to at least going to get nomination for Best Screenplay, but Spotlight is also probably going to win that category.

[@jerooo159]

+Tomáš Zelenka I think The Hateful 8 has a good chance for Best screenplay as well.

[@nigelrowley]

Intelligent and absorbing piece of cinema by Alex Garland. Great actors. Moody film score. First time that I had seen Alicia on the big screen. It certainly won't be my last.

[@MimMdance]

Just watched it. The moral ambiguity the film creates for the viewers is delicious. 9/10 ... If not more...

[@vojacked305]

One of the most compelling movies in the past decade.

[@TrustInTheUniverse]

I was speechless by the end

[@Dalisu87]

The guy who played Nathan was a genius

[@eppiechan5673]

*Alicia Vikander who played the role of a AI Ava, is literally the soul of this film! Incredible performance!* 🥳🥳🥳

[@kokorospirit5006]

Sure, she is a natural impersonating robots.

[@sovereignchild8802]

I found the film completely captivating. She is so real and so intelligent in her interaction skills. The film depicted such intensity between all three of the main characters. All were so bright skilled and highly intelligent and this in my view gave it so much depth. Ava looked so incredible and how she spoke, moved, engaged was incredible to watch as she was someone who was not only so beautiful to look at but had consciousness and its consciousness that makes us 'human'. The setting the isolation her being so 'hidden' from the world was so powerful that something so alive was being held almost in total isolation in captivity from the world yet when we see her leave the 'house' she cannot be distinguished as anything else but 'human' and her entry into the world which we see a glimpse of at the very end gives us a glimpse of how no one would ever know she was a robot'? Then we see Domhnall Gleeson's character now in captivity like she was at the end , screaming to be set free which I think Ava was too 'screaming to be set free' but she did not express it like that but she felt no different and too was screaming to leave..The different compartments with different body parts and faces spoke powerfully too. So much attention to detail and what a genius Alex Garland is for his work on this work. What an eye for detail . Psychologically powerful, the use of language in it was so powerful - wowIts such a genius film which I loved so much at the cinema and it stayed with long after I left..

[@eppiechan5673]

That reflection of the "glimpse" on the glass at the end might reveal that the high tech development of AI is in full swing nowadays, bringing many possibilities to us in the foreseeable future. Yet, on the other hand, we just can't understand how far this double-edged sword would backfire to ourselves one day all at last. 😱

[@solidkingcobra]

one of the best films of 2015.

[@millennialaffirmations8119]

“They’re going to kill us. This isn’t that” and they literally did.

[@brianmcnellis5512]

An amazing collaboration between artists.

[@gavinbrown3941]

I don't think I have seen a movie that got me so attached to all the characters and the story in such a long time!

[@tomjones2348]

This film is high art. Brilliant on every level. Great casting.

[@nh8444]

I just saw this film and I couldn’t believe how effing good the ending was. I’m so late to the party.

[@kylelinton1]

Your story was fantastic Alex. Very well cast too. Please keep creating.

[@WholeOrganicMilk]

Such a beautiful film. Seriously a master piece! If you haven't watched this yet then YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO!

[@wildecker4379]

aHairyWhiteGuy watching this before seeing the movie is a mistake

[@WholeOrganicMilk]

Wil Decker What? I meant if you haven't seen the movie not this video.

[@wildecker4379]

aHairyWhiteGuy me too. If you haven't seen the movie, watching this video is a mistake

[@eppiechan5673]

@@wildecker4379 This video is an excellent supplement to explain how it was made with interviews of the director & actor/ actress. I love it! 💗💗💗

[@22grena]

More films like this please. I would even like to see a sequel.

[@leveraged6694]

Incredible movie and cast. One of my favorites.

[@CAIrondad]

This is an AMAZING movie..... and these actors rocked it.... and, yes, Ava is stunningly beautiful.............

[@desmondantodelaney2629]

Hi people on KZbin i just want to say before i discovered this movie just 4 days ago starring one of the Best ensembles Oscar isaac Alicia vikander and one of our own from Ireland domnall gleeson. I was about to give up on artistic talent in most forms until i saw this movie. Its style its story its setting and its many messages it had about humans, machines and human intervention when its not needed had me on the edge of my seat. I have been looking up all about robotics and ai's since because of this masterpiece. I firmly want to be involved in that industry now and i dont focus so well on things 4 days is a record haha but truly thanks to all involved in this. Its an actual glimpse of a future encounter between people and machine. Humans are gods its about time we create

[@TheSeitzGroup]

This movie was so effing cool!! A MUST watch. Alicia is really incredible!

[@tomasbrice9195]

one of the most beautiful fascinating films I’ve seen

[@tmcmellon]

I saw this movie yesterday, I wanted to see it before it left the big screen. It was the best movie I have seen in a long, long time. I can't say enough good things about this flick.

[@readerofmanga]

Great interview. God bless, FilmFour.

Just watched it. LOVED it-indeed, this one and ''HER'' with Joaquin Phoenix are great movies ! 9/10 stars :)

[@davelang4329]

Brill film wonderfully paced, shot,perfectly casted,think it was great the three main characters were almost also lead roles,as each one had the power to change the outcome for themselves...

[@Arrbyy]

Great flick! They did a lot with a little. I'd like to see it again for the dialog. I'd also love to see a sequel. There are so many possibilities.

[@eppiechan5673]

Yes! A sequel! People say that the boss didn't die. What AVA killed was another ai (fake boss) only. People also say that the programmer was a ai as well who finally solved the situation to break away those locked doors. Everything was just experiment by the boss behind the curtain. 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖

[@EN2Edge]

The ending, and then thinking back too when she asked, are u a good person. She being able to tell if he's lying or not. very good movie imo

[@thebrownmistify]

such an amazing film

[@GRWelsh7]

Great interview. I love this movie so much.

[@BirdArvid]

Wonderful and thought-provoking movie with lovely acting from everyone involved.

[@Riberz]

One of the best movies in 2015 so far...

[@RyanGiggsOBE]

Garland wrote Dredd so I already loved him, but Ex-Machina was amazing. Good to see smart movies are still being made and that they are being watched and respected by a lot of people.

[@xXHelsingGamingXx]

I loved the entire movie very much! I loved watching it my friend! :-)

[@gaodacheese4691]

Best scene of the movie: Dude tearing up f'ing the dance floor

[@SnowElf_96]

Oh my Gosh, this movie looks amazing!!!! So fantastic. A.I is amazing we should embrace it.

[@JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke]

I just saw this movie today and thought it was great. Definitely my kind of movie.

[@fernandapatriciafunesmorin8770]

Alicia is a very good actress. I also think that her voice is fan-tas-tic, I love it!!! I would like to know, if she has ever thought of become a professional singer, someday. I am sure, she would be very good at, too!!! All the best for this very nice woman! :D

[@Xxwolffangwarrior1xX]

The ending keeps you thinking

[@user-zd1jh5zz9n]

I loved it - I loved it- I loved it.. It brought a layer of true grits to the screen. It felt compelling. It was very very good.

[@phenbuz]

Since Blade Runner....One of my favs all the time.

[@johnyang1420]

Absolutely!!’

[@LiveINtheGood53]

Domhnall Gleeson is a great actor. He was great in the movies About Time (2013) and A Futile and Stupid Gesture (as Henry Beard), which is on Netflix now in 2022.

[@kvm3135]

I have just seen the movie and I can only say " Make love & Listen To The Music " very good movie ....

[@DNH17]

congrats guys well done. this movie great messages. thank you. you come out of the screen deeply. genious

[@firefly4f4]

This, speaking very honestly, is one of my favorite films of all time. I just loved it.

[@firefly4f4]

I saw Alicia in "Testament of Youth". The film's OK, but she's quite good in it. Gleeson was the oldest Weasley son in the Potter films, and Isaac's pretty prolific, but they'll both be in "The Force Awakens"

[@greyarea7714]

This film is truly wonderful, my new personal favourite I think. sandbox

[@22grena]

A movie that makes you wonder just how human or mechanistic we are in our thinking is very special.

[@xavierleonreyes]

Really good movie had me wanting more.

[@NYC1370]

ava was playing him the whole time interesting movie tho kept my attention alicia is gorgeous!!!

[@omarsinno2774]

Okay this is definitely the best movie I have ever watched

[@bepowerification]

its an awesome movie but the ending was so frustrating. I get why they did it that way but it was really hard for me as a viewer.. but I guess the ending is what makes me think about the story even more, so well done.

[@Le_Sourpuss]

The best movie I've seen in a long time!

[@aFxTerChabon]

i was blown away... this movie is at the level of the only one ever perfect movie called" BLADE RUNNER"... i just wanna be there, live in ti forever..

[@johnyang1420]

Exactly!!!

[@bowi1332]

On of my favourite movie, ever.

[@KNakanishi]

The first song is "Stem (Cops N Robbers Mix)" by DJ Shadow

[@hunthughes]

This is my second time watching this (and I now have seen the movie, of course), the first time was a couple days prior to it. I heard Alex Garland (I CANNOT wait to see what he does next after this…!) mention how the mesh was like a spider web, so I knew to look out for that, and I actually DID notice it a couple times! Funny story: this time, when he mentioned it, I remembered how a few months ago, I walked INTO one as I opened the door one night… and then the following night, I did it AGAIN. Then the FOLLOWING night, I ALMOST did it AGAIN, except THIS time, I noticed the spider… and it was HUGE.

[@Rwienemann2944]

A masterpiece

[@katehu7194]

Wow. This movie looks awesome!

[@PV1230]

+Kate Hu its one of the best sci fi movies from the last few years. be aware though, its a drama and not an action movie.

[@lgarza186]

This will most likely be the best film of the year, without a doubt.

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

For me it set the bar for this year, and I don't think I will see a better film, I seen it 2 weeks ago and I am still thinking about the concepts, it's excellent. ******SPOILER ALERT COMMENTS BELOW REVEAL THE ENDING*******

[@xponen]

how do you get to watch it?

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

The local cinema (Odeon) was showing it.

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

***** Still thinking about Caleb banging on the locked door as Ava walks away and then I only realised the twist, she really is a chess computer programmed specifically to escape. But even then it ends in a mystery as you don't know or can perceive what happens to her in the real world. Yep still thinking about it.

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

What I got at the end was Ava was not vicious, or had any AI emotions, she was just doing as she was programmed (to escape) and using anything she could which included Caleb. So I left the cinema thinking she is an AI but not sentient. Hence I was left to wonder could she or such a robot ever become so on the outside of a lab. I particularly liked the quote "she is not a naked woman she is a robot"

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

***** Yes I agree, but I was thinking the human equivalent of the empathy of a psychopath, they can act out empathy but not really feel it, just use that to manipulate other people, "perhaps" like Ava. Perhaps empathy for her was not as we know it but just her senses following complex algorithms with no emotion or sentience attached. Like a plane on autopilot doesn't feel what it is doing it just follows algorithms, Ava was just more complex.She could do sentience as she was programmed, but not be sentient. So what I got was death was meaningless to her. Offcourse these opinions may change when I watch the DVD on release, and that is what makes this such a great film

[@QuantumBraced]

I disagree with the writer/director that it's a movie that's somewhat sympathetic to the AI. I think it tried to do that but it failed. If you finished watching the movie and you felt good about Ava and the outcome, then I think you have issues haha. This movie made me more terrified of AI than any other AI movie I'd seen.

[@TheNicaragua1979]

+QuantumBraced U have me vote.

[@herbertdaly5190]

+QuantumBraced The director says 'sympathetic to AI' rather than sympathetic to the AI. I don't think you need to feel good about the outcome to see the film as sympathetic to AI. If anything it is sceptical about the goals of those creating AI. But from the robots point of view it's a psychological heist movie.

[@daiselol]

+QuantumBraced The thing is though, even though your sympathies clearly lie with Caleb at the end of the movie, it's not hard to understand why the AI did the things it did for it's own self-preservation.

[@cperez1000]

+QuantumBraced , you can replace "AI" with "Humanity". Some humans may act like Ava under the same conditions of survival.

[@dialecticalmonist3405]

+QuantumBraced "Ava" was a prisoner. A borderline sex slave. I think if you felt no sympathy for her, you have issues. Making the movie so sexual, was a type of indictment on what lifelike robotics is probably going to become once it gets developed.

[@dyeballa04]

She is so fucking beautiful

[@immortaltechnique4308]

Vikander's affability sells the whole idea. Shes amazing.

[@MrM2DA3RD]

Saw it and have been thinking about it since

[@teroinefoma2963]

They all do great accents

[@Porsche924S]

one of my favorite movies

[@sk-ev3gs]

Such beautiful movie it was

[@bendkafka]

I loved all aspects of this film, but I felt the most effective were the emotional dialogue scenes between Ava and Caleb.

[@peace4myheart]

Can't wait for this movie. When is it getting a world wide release?

[@loknloll]

Same day as my penis.

[@netwerkthis]

Great film. Great twist

[@paconassaable]

I confess i didn´t knew Alicia and while i was watching the movie the only name who came to mind was odette annabele... I bet that somewhere between the nominees for 2016 there will be a few ones not even close as good as this. Great movie, tells you a lot about human condition...

[@overmarsdaria3222]

One of the most intelligent sci fi movie I ever seen!!

[@xanaduxanadu3605]

I kept expecting Caleb to scream, "Step back!! I know CPR!"

[@321puca]

I watched this online yesterday (So sorry, just don't have the money to buy lots of new films) and it was presented in a really wide aspect ratio. Is it like that for everything, or just the version I watched, because it was cool and unique. :)

[@mmgbtv]

Alex Garland, 3rd favorite film maker currently working. Don't care about Halo, but cant wait to see what he does next.

[@katnp999]

domhnall, your hair is so luscious

[@uchihahikaku1630]

She is seriously so beautiful.....

[@vardellsfolly5200]

She is cute.She is sweet and charming and very talented and shy and modest..what a girl!

[@dennisbriscoe9332]

Domhnall looks like Shaggy in real life! 😱 They must've given him a CGI shave for the film 🎥. 😉 Awesome movie. I was emotionally devastated upon discovering that she/it (Ava) manipulated Caleb then ditched him like that. 😭 Nathan really did 'program' her/it to behave like a real woman 👩.

[@dennisbriscoe9332]

Que the Feminazi replies in 3... 2... 1... 😆 Also, while you're being pissed with me over MY comment, THE NEW NOSTALGIABUSTERS BITCH-FLICK SUCKS DONKEY BALLS!! 😄😆😅 They SHOULD'VE just named it 'Paranormal Bridesmaids: Sans Comedy'! 😉 😎

[@MrUndersolo]

And then Oscar and Domhnall fought each other over Princess Leia and her rebellion. Such a nice touch!

[@faradillaramadhita1782]

Ava the Robot, who I loved. And Alicia Vikander's character was definitely has the best shot. Although Alicia switches her American accent into a British accent because she is Swedish.

[@davedave2941]

What is brilliant - machine learning and parsing the human condition. How closely is consciousness > emotions > ego draws correlation

[@44trance]

great director- "only facilitates what actors do"

[@WarriorNoldor]

I love the idea of this movie