Now, once again, I have to mention that this review will contain *SPOILERS*.
The experiment Caleb has been selected for is to test an A.I. that the company's CEO, Nathan (Oscar Isaac) has built. Alicia Vikander plays said A.I., named Ava. From Ava's first scene, Vikander makes a strong impression. It is extremely remarkable how she is able to make Ava seem authentically robotic with just the right touch of "humanity". It's an incredibly difficult combination, but Vikander does it flawlessly, to the point that you never doubt that she is this highly intelligent A.I.
I have to admit, I found myself completely transfixed by this performance from the very beginning. Vikander brings such a mysterious quality to Ava that you can't help but fascinated by her. This is an essential element of the film, as the audience becomes just as intrigued by Ava as Caleb does.
As the film goes on, Caleb begins to grow attached to Ava. Vikander strikes up a very interesting chemistry with Dohmnall Gleeson as she shows Ava to be trying to flirt with Caleb in an odd way. The fact that Ava has been programmed to have sexuality is a major plot element, and Vikander delivers in this area exceptionally. She makes Ava so powerfully and mysteriously seductive that you never have a moment's doubt that Caleb would be attracted to her.
The relationship between Ava and Caleb is really what most of the film centers on (or seemingly. More on that later...) What's truly remarkable is that it appears the two have almost sort of fallen in love. There's an excellent scene where Ava dresses up as a human being and describes the kind of date she wishes to go on with Caleb. The brilliant thing, is that Vikander shows it to almost be genuine, but with a definite falseness, although not entirely because of the reason you'd think.
Eventually, after seeing Nathan's behaviour towards things, he decides to help Ava escape from the compound. It turns out, however, that Ava had been manipulating both Nathan and Caleb the entire time, for her own benefit. The scene where she escapes the compound by brutally murdering Nathan is made absolutely chilling by Vikander in just how cold and, dare I say, mechanical it is.
The final scenes of the film are basically silent as Ava remakes herself to look exactly like a human woman. Vikander is absolutely masterful here as she wordlessly transforms herself. Her look in the mirror is haunting as there is no longer any real hint of the fact that she is a robot, but appears to be just another human being in a sea of many.
Alicia Vikander manages to make the core idea of the story, that an A.I. can be so advanced as to be virtually indistinguishable from a human, come completely to life through her mesmerizing and truly flawless work.
Rating: 5/5
