Either you are Christopher Nolan or you are not Christopher Nolan. But whether we find ourselves on one side or the other of the fanaticism for English, we must agree that Interstellar is the most exemplary film of all that is loved or hated in his filmography. A huge success with the public and critics, the 2014 film achieved spectacular images and a surprising melodramatic ending in the middle of a science fiction journey that seemed more complicated than it really was because the protagonists kept explaining themselves. Seeing how several elite engineers and astronauts explained the theory of relativity, a la Sesame Street, will forever go down as an example of clumsy narrative.
However, its effectiveness was there and the film was a brilliant journey for many. So much so that some science fiction fans even dared to compare it with 2001: A Space Odyssey, a Stanley Kubrick film that would serve as an opposite example in terms of its sparse explanations of what happens there. However, after a decade since Interstellar Its weight in the genre and in the history of cinema is undeniable, one that only seems to be comparable with the arrivalby Denis Villeneuve, released two years later.
However, we are here to try to put the spotlight on works that deserve it just as much or more. We are not here to discuss the brilliance of Starstellar either the arrivalbut yes to say that Ex-Machina He has nothing to envy of both of them despite having much fewer means.
Ex Machina It was the brilliant directorial debut of screenwriter Alex Garland, who also wrote the original script for the film alone. Then they would arrive Annihilationone of the most unique films on Netflix, a series as special as Devswhich fascinated us during the pandemic, or the recent one Civil War, provocative and intense. However, despite admiring the rest of his filmography, we can say that his most brilliant work remains this concise and intense story in which the employee of the largest technology company in the world goes to his boss’s secluded mansion to help him. with a robotics experiment.
Ten years later, the development of AI and the increasing lack of human connection in the modern world have made the plot even more impactful and important. But if something makes Ex-Machina What has grown over time is seeing a cast of little-known actors who are now real stars. We have the lead, Domhnall Gleeson, an Oscar Isaac who has never been better and, of course, an unknown Alice Vikander so fascinating that she jumped from this role of robot to Hollywood star without any intermediate steps. Also completing the cast is a Sonoya Mizuno who we now see shine as Mysaria in The house of the dragon.
Ex-Machina It is a brilliant example of a sci-fi thriller, full of intensity, emotion, aesthetic care and intelligence. An unbeatable example of how to make science fiction with few resources and how to trust the viewer with an intelligent plot without the need to over-explain it. It is also a story of love, loneliness and sex without melodramatic excesses. Ex-Machina It is a film that we will remember for a long time and that is one of the jewels of the Netflix catalog.
