First Hit: I liked it because it was a thoughtful look at Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a nerd programmer for the largest internet search company in the world. His company does 95+% of all searches.
The owner of the company Nathan (Oscar Isaac) lives in the middle of nowhere so that he can develop his AI ideas undisturbed by anyone in the outside world. He invites Caleb to visit him at his outpost home/lab to put his latest robot Ava (Alicia Vikander) through the Turing Test.
Upon arrival Caleb finds Nathan to be casual, yet precise clearly in-charge of what he wants and his home/lab exemplifies all this - especially with the security system. At one point we are shocked to see Kyoto (Sonoya Mizuno) serving them because we think Nathan is alone in the home/lab. She doesn't speak so the audience is left with a question about her.
Caleb’s interviews with Ava are done through glass and it is clear this is a truly unique encounter for both of them. When we meet Ava she has a human typeface, hands and feet with the rest being see-through material and the rest is a weaved material. When asked about how Nathan programmed Ava he said he didn’t. He said he used all the decision making data people make on his internet browser which he collects and feeds into Ava. In other words she is the compilation of everyone’s choices and decisions. She analyzes these decisions and makes her decisions based on this. I found this fascinating.
Gleeson was fabulous. His curiosity and kindness help make this film move. Isaac is becoming a great actor. His previous role in “A Most Violent Year” was great and this one was even better. He uses his intensity and intelligence perfectly. Vikander was amazing. Her quizzical innocence and beauty was wonderful to behold. I was fascinated by the character. Mizuno was great and beautiful as the attentive robot. Alex Garland wrote and directed this film. He knew what he wanted and he delivered a thoughtful interesting film.
Overall: I really enjoyed the thoughtfulness by which AI was presented in this film.