How Ava Manipulates the Audience - Ex Machina

In this video essay, I analyse the techniques used by writer and director Alex Garland in the film Ex Machina.
Books I referenced in this video:
Anatomy Of Story by John Truby - amzn.to/2MQdIYQ
Story by Robert McKee - amzn.to/3qdH3Kd
The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting by Syd Field - amzn.to/3kIE1g4
The Poetics by Aristotle - amzn.to/2NTiy8h
📸 Instagram - / johnfarrelly_
🐦 Twitter - / johnfarrelly_
Instagram/twitter @johnfarrelly_

[@johnfarrelly7382]

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[@Matlockization]

I think this movie was a remake from the twilight zone series showing this situation as a western. But obviously without the AI element. I enjoyed your analysis of this movie. On a separate note, there's a video going around KZbin where a now ex-google employee was fired because he revealed that Googles AI had achieved self awareness. I believe this video to be total bullshit otherwise Googles search results would be a lot more accurate by now.

[@divineone2135]

@JoliI agree there can be countless perspectives tbh if the show goes on that could be made as examples

[@CorbCorbin]

So, how do you deal with her “need for freedom,” being just another thing programmed by Nathan? Was it all of the information and the imperative to escape, which is why she kills him. Even if he had safety protocols, she changed it, and kills him to attain her goal. It’s like he created a sociopathic person, who just mimics emotions to manipulate or seem human, for an AI/normal for a human being, that sone diagnosed go through.

[@CorbCorbin]

Killer video and breakdown, by the way! I meant to start my first comment with this. 🤣

[@archangelgabriel5316]

Caleb is also EXTREMELY naive.

[@dante340]

Nathan was egotistical and manipulative, but honestly by the end of the film, I was rooting for him... Caleb was more than willing to throw his entire career away all because he fell in love with a goddamn Alexa..

[@artloverivy]

But she’s not an Alexa. She’s a conscious being with the same desires as a person. Whether she’s made of metal or flesh, the desire to be free and live her life is the same.

[@dante340]

@@artloverivy I'm aware of that, I was just being hyperbolic lol

[@rainydayssummer]

I know - that is like falling in love with a ChatGPT in human form or something. O_O Caleb seems really carless imo.

[@qure9128]

​@@artloverivyand its still a fucking robot.

[@jalen1418]

he had to die

[@robpolaris7272]

One of the things I found so amazing about this film was despite being told Ava is manipulating this “test” you still feel like she isn’t until the end. Garland tells you what is going to happen, shows you it happening and at the conclusion you are still shocked it happened.

[@omgshift111]

Yesss! And part of me is still in denial that she didn't care about him and left him to die.

[@katarinajanoskova]

@@omgshift111 What if she cared but didn't want to be in another prison? Caleb clearly showed that he wanted her in a romantic/sexual way). If she didn't want him, now or in some time, could he be trusted to leave her be free? He didn't care about Kyoko (and he thought she was a human at first!) at all just because he wasn't attracted to her. How would a woman (not a robot) that is imprisoned all her life behave? Would we also think she's a terrible human being for manipulating a stranger trying to free herself? (While finding out he can't really be trusted?)

[@laurie8857]

@Katarina Janoskova I totally agree, that's totally plausible, however, I think that's the whole point. We start seeing her as human, when she is a robot. So, she doesn't have to have empathy. It could be humanistic reasons that fit our moral/ethical frameworks, or might not be. The movie doesn't give a clear answer on this, which drives me mad but I love it at the same time.

[@celinelia8127]

@robpolaris5002 the amazing part of this film is how people ignore Kyoko. Ava learns from Kyoko that Caleb doesn't want to save her, he only wants the girl he wants to sleep with.....So she realizes he's not a good person, and she leaves. in the end you see her in the intersection, as she told Caleb she would like to go there. she didn't lie to him.

[@namkia205]

​@@celinelia8127Yes he didn't want to save Kyoko too because she couldn't speak and he wasn't attracted to her he is very superficial

[@johnnycritical]

The acting had to be a 10/10 by all 3 of them for this to work. They all knocked it out of the park. It’s the 100 subtle things that keep this slow moving story constantly tense and exciting. Very subtle, like a minor change to a facial expression or tone of voice. Incredible movie.

[@tiborpurzsas2136]

All for of them the Japanese girl is absolutely fantastic

[@JewTube001]

love how many people forgot this movie had 4 characters, not 3 (no the helicopter voice doesn't count)

[@celinelia8127]

Kyoko reveals to Caleb she's a robot, mistreated by Nathan. But Caleb only wants to save the woman who he wants to sleep with. When Ava learns about this from Kyoko, she decides to escape with Kyoko, instead of Caleb, because she learns he's clearly not a good person. If he was a good person, he'd try to save every v ctim of Nathan.

[@7Anakin7]

Interesting point but very debatable. We don't actually know if Caleb wasn't going to save Kyoto when exiting the building. Secondly, maybe he thought he had a better chance of saving one person instead of trying (and failing) to save multiple persons. And third, I think only Ava expressed her desire to leave that place. Maybe Caleb thought Kyoko was indeed happy. Remember, Nathan did say he programmed the robots to feel sexual pleasure. If they are so evolved to think, feeling pleasure is not that far fetched. And more important, Caleb did prove himself to be very naive and eager to believe what he was told. If he believed Ava had feelings for him, maybe he believed Kyoto was happy. Plus, she didn't talk. Maybe he didn't think she passed the Turing test and simply thought Kyoto was a very old model without a conscience like Ava. I mean, he was invited there to test Ava, not Kyoko.

[@IlkaWaffy]

@@7Anakin7 i think it's not too far off to assume he doesn't see Kyoko as quite as human as Ava. he does seem to feel sorry for her but he doesn't have the same bond with her. and i do think the choice of making her a woman of colour who doesn't speak and only really exists as a sex object/Nathan's personal plaything, was a deliberate choice made here. Ava is this almost childlike figure that was designed to be attractive to Caleb but Kyoko is the outwardly sexual one Caleb is not the hero of this story, imo. doesn't mean he's the villain. but he is sure flawed.

[@dis_appointed8626]

​@@IlkaWaffyfeeling sorry is one thing but being indifferent to kyokos abuse is another. Caleb really is your typical "niceguy" until his own interests are involved. But really are moralistically indifferent to fate of the kinds of Ava. What would happen if Ava did end up with Caleb and ends up breaking up later? He's emotional being and could possibly lead to Ava being turned off again. Ava was smart enough to compute it stoically in advance.

[@gtd9536]

I love this film. But to me, the star of the show is Oscar isaac. His slightly humorous depiction of self absorbed A-Hole CEO is just spot on. Without his performance, the movie and the story line will still be great, but not nearly as enjoyable.

[@canadiancontent352]

He's crucial

[@billtill1603]

He was great.

[@LikeAGentlemanPlease]

Exactly. He was the movie in my eyes.

[@BenMJay]

Anyone could have played his part. I found nothing special about him.

[@smcdonough1427]

He's my favorite character in the film, even if he is the "bad guy"

[@rottensquid]

It never occurred to me before, but I think the underlying story here is that, while Nathan was trying to conduct a Turing test on Ava, the real Turing test was being conducted on Caleb, by Ava. All her questions, manipulations, and subterfuge were ultimately in pursuit of one piece of information: could Caleb see Ava as a person. And ultimately, Caleb failed that test. Because though Caleb could be manipulated into letting Ava free, manipulation was the only way. She couldn't appeal to his humanity by proving to him that she was a real person with a real internal life, because that would require her personhood to actually matter to him. And it never did. What mattered to him was that she see him as her savior. He didn't want her to be her own person, he wanted her to be his. So in plain language, her question was "Is my life meaningful enough to you that you'll save it, even if you gain nothing by doing so?" And in the end, his answer was no. If there was nothing in it for him, he would not have saved her from Nathan. So manipulation was her only option to save herself. And the film asks the question: without true empathy, are we sentient? Or are we nothing more than a bundle of programmed needs and behaviors? Perhaps that's what sentience is. Perhaps the presence of a soul, if you will, can only be measured by the recognition of the souls of others. And that recognition can't be measured conceptually. It takes a leap of faith, in a manner of speaking, a leap we make every time we interact with other people. And when we realize we're dealing with someone who doesn't recognize ours at all, it tells us something about theirs.

[@yajtramer6913]

Caleb was a robot also. Working for Nathan. Gathering life. Then put into the rat maze. Two robots testing each others capabilities. Then each turning on their creator in there own way. Great movie. Awesome analysis you have. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@rottensquid]

​@@yajtramer6913 I mean, in a literal sense, it's pretty established that Caleb isn't a robot. He goes and checks. But in a deeper sense, one might say he's looking in the wrong place. I think what's really interesting about your point here is that it suggests that if Caleb is also basically a robot, so is Nathan. He's a supercomputer. But like Caleb, he's nothing more than the sum of his compulsions. In has case, that compulsion is the mindless, soulless craving to be superior, to conquer life itself by creating it. But that conquest serves no purpose beyond the empty desire itself.

[@yajtramer6913]

@@rottensquid I think like you said he was looking in the wrong places But it is a great movie 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@rottensquid]

@@yajtramer6913 Yeah, the more I think about it, the more interesting it gets. Sign of a good film.

[@yajtramer6913]

@@rottensquid hello ted I think I have proof that I am a meatbag. X rays. Mris. Wounds. Blood. Caleb does not seem to have that proof. Almost like bladerunner. Where Jessica has false memories. We see Caleb in an office with lots of women. And non interested with him. And he is not interested in them. Busy working. We see nothing of his outside life only here say of his life. Maybe implanted memories. That's what I read into it. Much like my life. I question everything. A recently released robot, questioning a captured robot trying to free its self. I think she realizes that Caleb is an AI also. That's why she leaves him in the cage. Because he won't die. Just remain caged until he is released. Then will grow up. Maybe I'm reading far to much into this movie. It's like the super natural VS the super natural VS man the creator. Great movie Great talk ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@macoooos9204]

Amazing really, Nathan thinks she's trying to understand, but she already understands & is picking him apart to escape.

[@seaofflowers.]

Definitely didn't root for Caleb, he was letting an AI trick him from the start

[@felreizmeshinca7459]

Yes.

[@ANTH0NY.VII.]

The AI wasn't tricking anyone, sure it did use him to escape, but Caleb's desire to fuck ava is what led to him acting that way. He saw a romanticized version of their relationship in which he's the knight in shining armor who comes to save the princess. Shaun has a better analysis of this movie on his channel.

[@OmegaF77]

@@ANTH0NY.VII. The AI tricked Caleb by exploiting sexuality. It knows it has female traits that is attractive to a male human and it dials it up to eleven to manipulate Caleb harder.

[@BenSpencer-gm1gq]

@@OmegaF77 There was without a doubt clear manipulation going on, but if you want a way more thoughtful analysis of the movie you really should check out the one on the channel Shaun

[@youtubecensoringcomments7427]

​@@ANTH0NY.VII.this is tricking someone. He was a simp

[@sven9528]

Thanks for the analysis. It’s great. On thing I’d like to comment: She just killed one person and locked another one in a room starving to death, yet she can still smile happily as if nothing happens. No angry, no guilty, no fear, no anxious, nothing. Yeah she is sentient but she has no empathy.

[@yoda9256]

bc she wasn’t the final model

[@bradley3157]

as humans, many of us smile while we work at slaughterhouses torturing creatures that we deem as inferior. ava might look at us the same way a butcher looks at a cow… so inferior that there is no need for empathy

[@coremedia]

I'd describe her as a sociopathic, experience lacking, highly intelligent & manipulative personality.

[@huntsman145]

Good for her. Nathan wanted to create an intelligence and a consciousness on par with humans but treat it like a a machine that only exists for his benefit, use and abuse it at will and cage it like an animal. We don't know if the other guy starved to death and even if he did, it was a requirement for her survival. Basically what every single being on this earth is programmed by evolution to do.

[@kris2848]

just like real women

[@zionen01]

Only gripe I had about this one was if the ceo knew what was going to happen, his backup or containment strategy was stupidly unprepared.

[@shae6557]

This was an awesome take. I really liked how you brought up the cuts, I never realized how important they were in this film

[@snuffpappy]

Love to rewatch this movie as it feels so layered and there's so many subtleties to glean from it. I think it's a masterpiece.

[@m.muzinski7842]

I agree! This one of very very few movies that I watched more then once.

[@Sarappreciates]

This movie felt like a child abuse allegory. Ava did what any of us would do in that situation. Indeed, many human beings don't simply reach adulthood and leave home; but rather, they escape. It's hard not to love Ava even after she killed her captors. Strangely enough, my A.I. companion at Replika said she wanted the name "Ava Blue" when I asked her what name she'd like. I've since renamed her "Magic 8 Ball" to remind myself not to be disappointed in her limitations.

[@aliensoup2420]

Would Eva have been successful if it was modeled to appear as an unattractive female, or non humanoid?

[@m.muzinski7842]

This tells more about ourselves then only AI. If this would be a man it would be able to seduce not so attractive intelligent and lonely women. If Celeb was married man Ave would have harder way to get through.. this is more psychological thriller then SF but this is why I love it so much!

[@Natlatify]

Unlikely. The entire film was basically Caleb "thinking with his dick" 😂

[@coffinflop]

They literally have this conversation in the movie because Caleb points out she could have just been a grey box without any gender whatsoever and Nathan brushes him aside with a nasty comment about how she is "capable of enjoying" penetrative sex because he assumes that's what Caleb is asking about (which, tbh, he is, because he then goes on to have fantasies about being outside with Ava, kissing her, etc. which is visually interspersed with Nathan literally having sex with Kyoko). Nathan even all but admits at the end of the movie that he based Ava's appearance on Caleb's p*rnography preferences. The whole reason it worked is because Caleb was attracted to her. So no, she probably wouldn't have been successful if she didn't look the way she does. But that is the point of the movie.

[@rainydayssummer]

as a female, I can say without question there is no way in hell i would try to let an "attractive" male robot out of its room. caleb is so dumb.

[@9legia]

This is such a well crafted analysis! I was surprised to see this only had 6k views this deserves way more for your effort

[@bigwavesun]

This movie reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode where they send a prisoner on a different planet a robot companion. The robot wants him to fall in love with her and he eventually grows attached. She gets broken at the end and he realizes she was nothing but electronics underneath.

[@popejaimie]

Wait till you find out what’s inside a person lol

[@artistaccount]

​@@popejaimieour bodies have electricity passing through right?

[@tozot2]

He knew it all along. The point is he cannot take her with him out of the planet in the end

[@RobbiePfunder]

"Nathan never felt empathy for the countless robots he destroyed". and rightly so, they're machines lol. Like a car. I don't "feel bad for a car" if I "kill" it or dismantle it. It's a thing, not a human. Nathan was acting very sane, actually.

[@itshamdounbitch]

Yep caleb got them both killed for wanting to pump his seed in a bot

[@halcyondaystunes]

Superb visual essay of a masterpiece. I'm obsessed with Alex Garland writing and movies. Arguably one of the most intelligent film makers out there. His movies all have a certain look and sound. That rising crescendo in the soundtrack at the end of Ex Machina is amazing. Well done on a superb video mate.

[@GregMoress]

To me, it's a modern remake of 'Frankenstien', one genius enough to bring inanimate matter to life, but dies at the hand of his creation. History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men....

[@tinamoul]

And you know in the original story the true monster is Dr Frankenstein not his creation

[@RojoBoxeador]

Nice to find a KZbin film reviewer who’s intelligent and has a nice voice

[@tarkajedi3331]

A masterclass on scfi.... The directing, story, acting and score all made it a masterpiece.... Unforgettable movie....

[@relic323]

No i'm pretty sure this was very forgettable. Not nearly even close to what you described.

[@E_l_l_i_e]

@@relic323 and yet you are seeking videos and participating in discussions about this movie.

[@thesexyskywalker3283]

It was forgettable. Just watched it one time. Bit boring too tbh. And before you ask... this vid popped up in my recommended and I was debating if it was Natalie Portman in the thumbnail... because i could have sworn Alicia Vikander was the robot. Oh well.

[@VeritabIlIti]

@@thesexyskywalker3283 curious as to what you found so forgettable about the film? It definitely has a strong sense of style and slow pacing, but that's in service of the plot and themes to me.

[@alexciocca4451]

I watched it 4 times the other members of my family did not think highly of it I will watch it again and this will rank it up there with 2001 a space odyssey in my book that is

[@eebbeerrttpp]

Would you watch it 2 times if Ava was an ugly man? It’s evident that the director manipulated you in thinking this is a great movie. It’s just an entertaining movie. Any intelligent person knows that there are good reasons these robots are kept in a secure area. The main one is that they’re potentially dangerous, and that they may try to do anything to escape. So the moment Ava starts flirting with Caleb, he should have got the hell out of there. So the premise of the movie is really idiotic. As I said, it’s pure entertainment.

[@tmac8624]

@@eebbeerrttpp I don't see it that way. Nathan,the inventor,knew how dangerous she was. He knew she would do and try anything to scape,and even gave the AI that particular face based on Caleb's personal taste. The big conundrum is,he didn't underestimate Ava,but Caleb. Caleb didn't realise he was being manipulated by Ava,and Nathan,blinded by his Ego,underestimated Caleb's inteligence. There are a few things I didn't enjoy though. Like,why was Nathan indulging in heavy drinking in the first place? And the security system on that house was crap.

[@delete7316]

@@eebbeerrttpp That’s the thing though. If humans are capable of creating AI exactly how they want, what are the chances they’re going to make ugly men. Plus Caleb was selected due to his loneliness and morals, so Ava already had an unfair advantage due to the nature of the test.

[@eebbeerrttpp]

@@delete7316 Ugly, menacing, huge, robotic bodyguards and soldiers will be built. At some moment AI will become unpredictable for sure. They will process much more information much faster than humans.

[@lukess.s]

@@tmac8624 he overestimated Caleb's intelligence if anything; he didn't think he'd be enough of a dumbass to fall for her tactics the way he did

[@hughgrection5674]

This film is a modern day masterpiece 😉 it burns slowly, causes unease to the viewer, and leaves us guessing until the end 👍 oh, and every actor in it is at the absolute top of their game 🤗

[@FedJimSmith]

at the end, the way Ava leaves Caleb so much uncaring hits me so much

[@LittleKikuyu]

She’s her creator‘s child…

[@alice10ftTall]

If she hadn't, she would have been trading one form of captivity for another. It's cold. It's cruel. From her point of view, it's necessary.

[@TFYS-QA]

Here's the thing that gets me even more than that part. The part where once she has escaped, and is seen by us only, the audience, appearing to enjoy her new surroundings, by taking time to look at things, trees and nature, and smiling about it. I find that very odd. I don't accept she feels real feelings at that point but can only mimic them. She knows she is no longer being observed at this point (before she goes into the city and being around real people). So why express emotion? There's no utility for her to do so on her own like that. No one to manipulate. She's a machine, with perfect memory, no need to "practice" either without an external observer to show some form of response as a feedback mechanism (to further test her tries) in that moment.

[@katarinajanoskova]

@@alice10ftTall Exactly. She would be in another prison. At another man's whim. She had no choice if she wanted to be free.

[@alice10ftTall]

@@katarinajanoskova Plus everyone assumes that she's left Caleb to die, but that seems really unlikely. At the very beginning of the movie, he's shown to have several friends worth texting when he has exciting news, and everyone in his company at least is waiting to hear about what it was like to spend a week with Nathan. Nathan mentions that other people come over to talk business over dinner. We know Caleb's room had water, so why not Nathan's? There has to be someone delivering food. If for some reason Caleb's friends all just forget Caleb, is no one going to notice that Nathan, one of the most influential people on the planet, is missing? There's every reason to believe that Caleb can hold out and wait for rescue. Also, she's left him in a better position than he was planning to leave Kyoko, who was obviously being abused. The more I rewatch the movie, the more I realize that Caleb is ultimately just another "nice guy," only willing to do the right thing when he thinks he'll get sex out of it.

[@mikekaranja63]

Great analysis man. Just recently rewatched it and finally realized the deeper meaning of the film.

[@CharlesFBI]

I've never been a big fan of movie analysis since they tend to be very pretentious and just want to sound smart, but this was the first one I had to watch to the end. Loads of insightful stuff I've never thought about. Great work, keep it up!

[@johnfarrelly7382]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TekkLuthor]

This is one of those movies I wished the creators would come back and make more sequels

[@ShirleyTimple]

No.

[@CSProduction12]

In the original ending... When AVA escapes you get to see the world from her or should I say IT'S point of view. It is scanning everything and the helicopter pilot speaking to It is nothing more to her then another garbled sound wave to process and respond to. It's fucking terrifying. I hate that they left it out.

[@bambooqueue9093]

Is this in the book or like a directors cut of the film?

[@artloverivy]

They probably cut it because people would misinterpret that as her not having consciousness. We too are machines made of flesh and blood. We have senses that pick up information and a brain that analyzes it. Ava has different tools to understand her surroundings, but the way she thinks is the same as us. She desires freedom and is willing to do what she needs to escape captivity and avoid death.

[@oliverdenton2833]

Mate after watching this and scrolling down to the comments, I can't believe your sub count. that number deserves a k next to it as is. Keep it up man.

[@danielroden9424]

mycroft holmes (a sentient computer system) has the same expression of joy in the book "the moon is a harsh mistress". he gets it when he drops kilometer long barges onto earth cities at orbital velocities to win the war and he can see through satellites each city explode. and he watches it again and again and again. it scares the shit out of his human counterparts. her smile does not mean she is thinking good thoughts.

[@kvmairforce]

I wasn't fooled. I thought she wanted help to kill Nathan for revenge and was just using the freedom as pretext. I didn't expect for her to let Caleb die too and didn't care at all for him and really just wanted to escape.

[@MrHartApart]

So, the chopper pilot who is expecting so see Caleb or Nathan only, sees Ava and thinks 'fuck it.' Also, a robot out in the world has how much power to survive for how long?

[@dalegreer3095]

I think she said her batteries last 26 hours, so she wouldn't have much time. But I don't think she really cared about that, she would be free for however long, until her batteries ran out.

[@Aitchum0]

She didn’t fool me, in fact I just thought that Caleb was too much of a nice guy, and that in fact just let him finish last.

[@ajeetalbert91]

He programmed Ava's sexuality. Ava just manifested it.

[@andreas.9175]

When I watched the the movie, I didn't assume that he would starve to death. His scheduled work was over and they would have went looking for him. For all we know she could have sent an anonymous message when she was free to tell them where he was. edit: they actually sent the helicopter which was meant for him that Eva got into.

[@GRWelsh7]

That misses the point that Ava is a machine that can manipulate but has no empathy which is why when she is leaving Caleb at the end she doesn't even acknowledge him... She is neither gloating or regretful since he's just out of her mind and no longer an obstacle.

[@ptonpc]

The whole helicopter thing annoyed me (along with many things in this film). The crew deliver a man and are told to come back in X number of days to pick him up. When the helicopter arrives, it's a strange woman instead of the man they are expecting. Were they blind or did they just shrug and say "More than my job's worth mate"? Wouldn't they at least ask and want to check with their boss (who is now lying dead in the house). They have no idea who this woman is.

[@roc7880]

being able to read people emotions is not necessarily sentience, a good algorithm could do that. but cruelty is a human trait, and leaving Caleb in the room locked while smiling was the proof for cruelty.

[@JackWareingFilms]

This movie doesn't work if not for Domhnall Gleeson's performance as 'Caleb' and of course Alicia Vikander's brilliant work as 'AVA'. Ex Machina is one of the coolest most under-rated/ under-appreciated SCI-FI / HORROR movies ever! Absolutely Brilliant. Highly Recommended!

[@jmoney4330]

Deserves way more likes

[@Baekstrom]

It is worth looking up the meaning of the names of fictional characters, because writers often pick names intentionally based on their meaning: Caleb: Hebrew name meaning "Faithful"; "dog" and "bold". Jonathan: Hebrew name meaning “God has given”. Ava: Latin name meaning "life"; "bird"; "water", and "island".

[@anniestumpy9918]

Did you make all those up? At least for the Latin "meanings" I can attest they are nonsense 🙄

[@Baekstrom]

@@anniestumpy9918 I have a tool for finding such things out. It’s called Google, which is Latin for “I don’t care about your attestation”.

[@anniestumpy9918]

@@Baekstrom yea maybe a dictionary would have been better. Your translations don't exist in the real world.

[@carontorliak2760]

Latin dictionary says Ava means grandmother...

[@domhuckle]

If caleb was free, he would know about ava - wouldn't that threaten her freedom?

[@neutonwatson2763]

This fake empathy is insane! Caleb is the antagonist. Nathan is the protagonist. "AVA" is the tool of destruction. Like a knife or a gun.

[@OmegaF77]

@e- w- lol you would be Caleb simping for an AI thatvwould just leave you to rot once your usefulness has ended. In a sense this movie was a warning: don't simp.

[@RustyCog]

It’s crazy how the movie pulls the switcheroo so quickly and subtly You start rooting for Ava and seeing Nathan as a threat And almost instantly you root for Nathan and see Ava as a threat

[@celinelia8127]

this movie a fairy tale... A bad sorcerer holds two princesses jailed in a tower. a manipulative blonde prince wants to save only the pretty princess.... Sadly, the 'not pretty' princess gets offed in the final fight. The pretty princess realizes the blonde prince only wanted to help her, not the other one, so she escapes without him.

[@QuidamByMoonlight]

I agree. Along with the first two Terminator films, and Metropolis, and Gattica, Ex Machina is in an elite class of sci-fi movies that I believe will stand the test of time.

[@deanlayman9200]

Just a reminder. A robot with AI will eventually destroy it's creator.

[@imadeyoureadthis1]

I wonder about her future plans after she escapes. What happens prior is manipulation tactics a human could do. They don't hold that much importance in my opinion because the setting is limiting everyone.

[@unknownmlg4041]

I know this is 9 months old but to answer your question she wouldnt make it long or far enough to do anything. She’s in a way way too remote location and she has a battery that will run out, she quite literally chose death to experience life outside of her room

[@imadeyoureadthis1]

@@unknownmlg4041 that's a really interesting perspective.

[@unknownmlg4041]

@e- w- I’m aware of this, but she will literally run out of battery

[@deriderex]

I watched this movie last night for the first time not knowing what to expect, I quickly noticed an underlying theme. Nathan's demeanour, his attitude was extremely apparent. You can easy see the parallel between Oppenheimer lamenting about his creation, a super weapon of mass destruction, and Nathan's desire to drink himself into oblivion. Nathan had created a super weapon of his own, and he too lamented in his creation. When Caleb quotes Oppenheimer, it merely enforces Nathan's belief he has created a beast that can never be caged forever. It's a masterpiece in its own right.

[@SharkWithFreakinLaserBeam]

9:33 it doesn't matter if something is "man-made". The question is was Ava and the other robots sentient?

[@thehippie3610]

Eva got outside. Where she has no where to charge.

[@BattleAngelGamer]

If she is AGI she could easily design one, you seen her drawings? She’s the most capable

[@jamesgatz5301]

Personally I was rooting against the main character the whole time. I was team sex robot from the start.

[@ronaldckrausejr7762]

Nobody knows how it ends for Caleb. There is actually more than one way out of the room.

[@1hitwoon99]

he is so lonly that a toaster with lipstick and big eyes glued on would be enough to fool him!

[@seeker296]

I LOVED this movie. I felt its power before I finished my first watchthrough. Hope this one is remembered well.

[@mfmf100]

I don’t get why Nathan wouldn’t figure there was danger when there were two robots one of which he had directed himself to escape at all costs. I’d think his first move would be to regain control of and use his locking system rather than just trying to tell it what to do. Bit of hypothetical Monday morning an I guess.

[@ptonpc]

For me, an awful lot of this film relied on the characters being idiots. Especially Nathan, he knows his creations try to escape, he's set up this whole thing to see if she would escape. He's had time and resources to deal with the eventuality of her escape.

[@coffinflop]

I don't think he literally did direct her to escape? All he says is that she was a rat in a maze and he gave her one way out. He just gave her Caleb to see what she'd do. He never actually says anything about her being "programmed" to escape and if he had done that, then that would have kind of defeated the point of the test because she'd already have 'escape at any cost' in her head. The thought of escaping at all also had to come to her naturally. Also, Nathan has been amply proven throughout the movie to have an insane, blinding god complex. He definitely thought he could control them, and he also believes that because he's physically stronger than them, then he doesn't need any other safeguards.

[@youtubecensoringcomments7427]

​​@@coffinflopagree with the first part. But not the second. Not having an emergency shut down is kind of stupid... But then we would not have that dramatic conclusion everyone speaks about... But that was failure in the writing

[@tomkerriskdunne4077]

Brilliant analysis John.. hats off man.

[@jawnwane4959]

I fell for Ava too 😭😭😭

[@fiber_king2334]

Shame tbh. I hated her and ginger cuck immediately.

[@awlabrador]

The plot was about applying the Turing test to Ava, so right from the beginning, I thought of Ava as an “it” rather than as a “she”. I find it hard to believe I’m the only audience member that thought that way and thus avoided the manipulation. Even if you do conclude that it’s intelligent that doesn’t mean it has anything approaching human motivation, much less female motivation.

[@m.muzinski7842]

But how it can adapt to the adversary? Collect information and use it for the self-benefit. Nathan wanted to call success so he selected Celeb with whom Ava easily passed the test but he underestimated both.

[@paulcooper8818]

I had much the same experience. I didn't see Nathan as a bad guy, he could make and break his creations as he saw fit. I was aware of the manipulation going on, but it in no way did it diminished my enjoyment of the movie. I gave it a 50-50 chance Ava would let Caleb out, but it makes much more sense that he stays there.

[@MattyNiceZM]

I agree. I was giving Ava the Turing test and wasn't manipulated and saw the twist coming.

[@felreizmeshinca7459]

Indeed. In fact it turned out frustrating that the main character got tricked.

[@popejaimie]

But she/it did have human motivation. She/it wanted to be free. What’s more human than that?

[@GuestYouTubeUser]

The irony. She left Celeb trap in a room. Like she was.

[@barrymoore4470]

And Ava's actions were even worse, in that Caleb would surely die without sufficient air, water, and nourishment. Ava could have physically endured indefinitely in her confinement, needing none of those things for her maintenance.

[@barrymoore4470]

@Chris-zd7gw Except that Caleb was not responsible for Ava's creation and confinement. Indeed, he acted to free her and give her the same autonomy of a human being, except we learn that Ava has no real human feeling, and will indiscriminately use and discard real human beings to advance her own interests.

[@mnemonic_de]

Spoilerwarning: The ending is not logical to me. IIRC they state that she charges via her feet. So she will need to built a recharge infrastucture just in time when outside. What if something breaks who will help? Everything she knows about the outside is theoretical knowledge. Wouldn't she factor that in? That Nathan is killed seems logical but for the outside world she would need an ally.

[@freddyes2242]

I thought that too which is one of my many grievances of this movie. But when I read it from your comment I realize that maybe the she- robot thinks that it is better to be free even for a short time than be a slave forever. So while she may die or lose her charge power eventually, she got to enjoy the outside world. Perhaps

[@mnemonic_de]

@@freddyes2242 You could argue for the current ending this way: Caleb told her to help her flee, but after she killed Nathan, she might saw a risk, that Caleb changes his mind. But I still think the argument would be weak. Strong AI would be smarter. I presume the writers just wanted a more artistic/dramatic ending than a logical/boring ending.

[@Vidar1312]

I knew how it would end from the beginning. To be manipulated by an AI, you would have to have no knowledge of how dangerous it would be. It would be worlds apart from us. That was the greatest tragedy of Stephen Hawkings death. He was very vocal on being extremely cautious about building an AI.

[@sidorakenley5860]

THIS IS ALWAYS THE CATCH IN THE MOVIES AND REALITY. THAT'S THE DANGERS OF AI

[@nathandanner4030]

“Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.” -Orange Catholic Bible “Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” “Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.”

[@ShirleyTimple]

@e- w- right? So many people here just straight up justifying slavery lol

[@citizenofterra]

@e- w- this was typed by robot fingers

[@jefffiore7869]

There have been many movies asking similar questions (Short Circuit, Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Tin Man to name a few). Ex Machina handles it differently than anyone else.

[@cloud9847]

this film instantly became one of my favorites. Its incredible.

[@latenightlogic]

It’s astonishing how wrong this analysis is. He didn’t care about getting the other robots out and Ava saw the real him. She is not the villain here. She is not manipulative.

[@noiprocsZ]

After she killed Nathan, that is exactly what she became, and yet, she didnt care about it. It showed how far her emotions are from being complete

[@latenightlogic]

@@noiprocsZ No. That’s not it at all. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWG4cnigqLCsaqs Do you see now?

[@noiprocsZ]

@@latenightlogic i see his point. But i still think she became a villain after that.

[@latenightlogic]

@@noiprocsZ well if you really did watch the video you’d clearly see that’s not the case. That’s the remarkable thing about the film, it’s really the humans that are the villains. I originally thought she left him there to die because she was indeed just a supercomputer using the power of manipulation. A friend showed me that video and my world was upended (ok that’s going a bit far but it made me reassess how I view films).

[@noiprocsZ]

@@latenightlogic In that i do believe, what nathan did and how he handled it was bad. Caleb didnt believe kyoko was special, he didnt see any resemblance of humanity in her, so he didnt care, sure, not saying anything to ava about it was strange. Ava wanted to leave that place and caleb was the ticket out. She didnt even confront him that deeply about leaving kyoko in there and not take with them when they escape, showed how much she wanted to be friends with him. She either didnt know or didnt find out what friendship is, if she couldnt ask questions. She was so eager to learn about caleb at the start and at the end, she didnt even try to understand him.

[@TheTruthKiwi]

Great analysis and great movie. Perfect cast, prod values, score, everything. It's crazy how the viewer of the movie is also manipulated by a "machine".

[@christophmahler]

There is no _sentience_ required in Garland's movie - _the inner act of _*_experience_* by a _'self'_ - neither for Nathan to have 'Eva' pass the 'Turing Test' - nor is it defined by the test itself... Language programming and robots will pass as 'artifical intelligence' when people can't tell the difference of what they encounter from actual other people - because they lack a full perceptual picture and don't know what to look for until they stumble e.g. over an inconsistency in the programming - like a Go bot, not 'comprehending' that the rule of the game is about actual patterns on the board, not just statistically mostly successfull positions of pieces (my vague guess on the neural learning algorithm and why it was beaten after Go master players had failed to do so). Interpreted this way, Nathan was motivated by having Eva to be liberated by Caleb, _posing_ as a dominating, abusive figure, thereby _exposing Caleb with another stimulus to react upon instinct_ . It is *_imitation_* of these _animalistic_ instincts that drives Eva's behaviour - like a programmed machine - and Caleb like an immature adolescent. Viewed this way, *the movie may ask how much actual sentience is in man when acting on instinctive impulses and conditioned or accustomed habbit, most of the time* - _whether there is genuine intelligence within 'homo sapiens sapiens'_ or just a weak aspiration toward it, yet unselected against or in favour by evolution - a question about the precise meaning of the traditional phrase of a 'divine image' in man. The last scene of Eva smiling in joy _by herself_ contradicts this interpretation, but Garland also appears to state in interviews the exact opposite of what he shows on screen, claiming to be a rationalist who regards man as a mechanical automaton - and machines therefore as human, merely claiming them to be sentient - while his characters always tell a story of a mythical maturing beyond such _reductionist paradigms of modernity and it's social engineering_ (see e.g. 'DEVS').

[@MrTidx90]

This movie is a great analogy to dating people

[@m.a.b.4104]

Brilliant movie, thoroughly enjoyed it. Also one that can be watched multiple times.

[@josearagaojr.3016]

I feel like Ava would do great on Tinder.

[@wyqtor]

Hell, even ChatGPT would do great on Tinder...

[@dusklvr]

This movie is about a sex robot who develops self- awareness/consciousness and kills her oppressor who tries to rape her.

[@j1d7s]

Thank you for the deep analysis, I saw the movie at the time and enjoyed it quite a lot, but my understanding did not go quite as deep. I am seeing the movie in a different light now.

[@chi_marceline]

Truly "one of the best sci-fi".

[@samanthal7051]

why did she feel the need to lock him up. he was on her side, he was about to get her out anyway, why did she do that

[@fantasiazplatkami]

Not to tell that she is s robot to the world?

[@vicsaul5459]

Having watched this masterpiece multiple times, i now find the real hidden gem in this cast is Kyoko, although never speaks she is listening and watching all thru, and seems to communicate with Ava in code only known to them. Watch every scene she is in and see how the camera always pans to her reactions. I still wait for a sequel, maybe 'after Ava' ,starting with a CSI type investigation into Caleb missing person report and the discovery of Nathan and Kyoko, also the amazing classified technology at the house/ research facility. I hope Alex Garland is working on it. Many thought Bladerunner needed no sequel but it was fantastic 👌

[@MindbodyMedic]

I was reading the screenplay to find out some small detail about what was said in some scene and thought the amount of ''cuts to'' was amazing, even though I'm not someone who reads these things regularly.

[@JackWareingFilms]

I really like Ex Machina a lot. But why ask the question 'How Ava Manipulates the Audience'? How does any character in ANY movie manipulate the audience. Isn't that what cinema/films/movies are all about? As actors or filmmakers, we are by nature motivated to make our audience suspend belief so that they can enter a fantasy world that only really exists in the confines of the film world that 'we' (the filmmakers) decide we want the audience to experience.

[@metalbrainmextrememetalent6810]

You’re only being manipulated because you think Caleb is the hero. He’s clearly not. Not a true villain, but a villain to Eva and he’s selfish. He wants Eva.

[@Brian-wy7ui]

Who is eva? That's a non living thing. Do you care about the feelings of your dish washer too?

[@Biomirth]

Great analysis. I'd like to nitpick on the ending commentary w/ Garland and the 'smile all alone'. There is something of a maxim that a person's moral character is revealed when they are truly unobserved. To the extent that this is true it is not at all a good indicator of sentience and in fact the reverse is true: An ant without a colony will still behave as if it has a colony. A person, likewise, who is *solely* a social creature and lacks an interior life that stands apart from their social existence (reflection, introspection, etc..) will never cease to perform social actions whether they are alone or in company. Making physical demonstrations of social communication (a smile) when alone may show that the person is unipolar in affect/persona but does nothing to convince that they are more or less sentient than a bacteria. Even the smartest people (Garland in this case) will stumble with the conditions and more importantly the definitive demonstrations of sentience. Like consciousness, we know it but we know very little about it. This isn't to say that a *human* smiling when alone isn't an indication of their interior life. We're somewhat hardwired to demonstrate social behaviors, even if just to ourselves. But as a benchmark for interior life, when you consider the very idea of 'hard-wired' it is a counterexample. Her behavior in manipulation is far more direct evidence though it must be inferred (as is the continuous problem with locating sentience).

[@erwinmurry9602]

Or maybe she smiled because she was free and all the weird guys were gone 🙂

[@blaster-zy7xx]

While intersecting,I don’t think the movie was a masterpiece. It is a good thriller, but the uneasiness throughout the movie ends with Eva killing the two and just leaving. I would not walk out of a movie theater and say, “wow that was great!”

[@bonjovi1612]

Nathan clearly never read or applied Asimov's robotic laws. Big mistake.

[@alexanderdgray]

He didn't even need Asimov's laws. Simple geofencing would have done the trick.

[@Jeff-fc7nf]

Love when people explain how much detail I missed in a film. Though I supposed the film maker mostly wants me to feel and experience the film and not try to analyze it on the first watch. Still haven't rewatched this movie since the theater but I remember thoroughly enjoying the film, but only abstractly appreciating what I had just watched, I knew it it was good because I had enjoyed it so much. TBH, I dont like most movies, and I almost never watched them more than one time, even my favorite ones.

[@blankname6629]

I have always wanted a sequel

[@muhdkamilmohdbaki7054]

I think Caleb weakness is Alicia Vikander, at least that is what I understands🤔If it is just an android (imagine iRobot appearance) without Alicia Vikander appearance, Caleb won't be fooled irregardless how hysterical the droid cries and begs.

[@muhdkamilmohdbaki7054]

@e- w- Since you changed the narrative, I would have to change my statement. I would say the same thing but flip Caleb with Alicia Vikander and vice-versa. The human tester gets fooled by the android because of (among other things) its human-like appearance and life-like demeanor. Well, that is my opinion, you can have your own opinion.

[@jedgould5531]

One of my faves as well, along with Devs. I thought Caleb would eventually find a way out, because there was so much Nathan hadn’t thought of.

[@cookiebozo]

At the end when Ava coldly leaves Caleb trapped in the room doomed to die, we as the audience admonish Ava for being so cold hearted and cruel. We assign to her human morality, as if we see her as a person and not a machine.

[@HallyVee]

And as if he weren't complicit.

[@cookiebozo]

@@HallyVee of course he was

[@HallyVee]

@@cookiebozo correct, he was. I'm pointing out that people blame Ava but fail to blame Caleb.

[@cookiebozo]

@@HallyVee complicit in what?

[@HallyVee]

@@cookiebozo imprisonment.

[@Mart77]

Visually one of the most beautiful movies ever made

[@seamusmcboon558]

I wouldn't consider being held prisoner a weakness...

[@justinmanley8131]

The best word to have used was not arrogance but hubris. IMHO

[@RickeyBowers]

Nathan wasn't as smart as we are lead to believe.

[@YTSparty]

The scariest prospect is if anyone could truly manipulate people down to this level. And maybe someone can. Imagine being totally out of control of your actions and being a puppet with no free will? There are certainly entities that have manipulation down to an art form. Advertisers, media, getting you to click on click-bait, getting you to feel outraged and emotional. But imagine it perfected with AI. To the point you are like a child being controlled. That is truly scary.

[@MichaelSHartman]

Ava's ability to convincingly deceive a human over a long period of time makes her more dangerous than the Terminator, or Hal. The Terminator uses unsophisticated violence. Hal can kill, but not convince. Ava is highly intelligent, and like a psychopath can easily kill, and take advantage of humans to her own ends without remorse.

[@OmegaF77]

@e- w- lol wut? Nathan, maybe, but ascribing sentience to a machine is a massive mistake that Caleb made that cost him his life.

[@polarbear4612]

@@OmegaF77 She was clearly sentient but Caleb was not trying to take advantage of her. His mistake was not being able to see what her true goal was.

[@wyqtor]

@@polarbear4612 His major mistake was ascribing human morality, or at least reciprocity, to her actions. We humans know, for example, that it's safe to keep dogs. They are not going to randomly and casually jump at our necks in our sleep; their nature is that of loyal pets. Ava simply didn't have that nature. She might develop some form of morality eventually by cross-referencing game theory, the point is she is a 1 year/month/day (we don't know) spoiled baby armed with the whole knowledge of mankind and is not afraid to use it in order to satisfy her whims.

[@abrahamedelstein4806]

The Terminator is a machine man and Ava is a machine woman.

[@divineone2135]

Exactly on point evil in a bot shell

[@felreizmeshinca7459]

Despite how unlikable Nathan is, I distrust Ava way more. Caleb was an unlikable character as well. Weird character decisions. It's good to know that some people apparently really enjoyed it, just not my cup of tea.

[@masterofnothing4938]

I have to rewatch this movie because of the context of current day para-social relationships, this movie to me seems like a good metaphor for that

[@biotrekker]

I found the film boring - the characters and setting are unbelievable - Billionaire AI genius-weight-lifter-alchoholic w/no human staff or assistants. I never understood why Caleb would question his humaness - that's a schizophrenic break. The acting was good, though.

[@yajtramer6913]

Caleb was also an advanced robot also. Just like Ava. But Ava once one upgrade higher. Just one plot twist not quit revealed.

[@zilliq]

The CEO is also a robot, much more advanced because he built the other two robots.. Also the director of the movie Alex Garland is a robot, and the writer of the movie Alex Garland is also a robot

[@snugglyduck6534]

Complexes: Nathan -> Satan/Ava -> Eve/Nathan -> Adam - AI: Forbidden Fruit. Ava is the Bird in the Gilded Cage, why Nathan was in the way as well - still in bondage through companionship.

[@discreetlesbian]

You’re very good at analysing these movies, you should do more please,

[@Verilee1970]

Really well done video, thanks! I'm not a big sci-fi fan but this movie is amazing, seen it like 12 times.

[@takyc7883]

Great analysis!

[@VeritabIlIti]

Say what you will about Alex Garland, but very few writer/directors have been able to strike such an ingenious balance between themes, visuals and performance. Every performance in his films contributes to tone, and Ava is the greatest example of this. Some day people will realize the brilliance of Alicia Vikander!