The first U.S. trailer for Alex Garland’s Ex Machina has surfaced, starring future Star Wars alums Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year) and Domhnall Gleeson (Frank), along with Alicia Vikander (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.).
Audiences were first given a tease of Garland’s indie sci-fi film a few months ago, when A24 released a teaser trailer that was effective in giving us a sense of the remote environment our three characters seem to occupy for the majority of the film. It also worked to show a distinct visual style that is both sleek and minimal, along with all the neat tech gadgetry that’s crucial in giving lower budgeted sci-fi films like this a more polished look. This trailer has all of that, but expounds on the tension and relationships between the three characters and builds to a menacing and foreboding crescendo, which the shrieking music helps accentuate.
Ex Machina tells the story of a programmer selected to help a reclusive CEO with a Turing test that studies the behaviors and mannerisms of an A.I. machine named Ava. However, Ava soon proves to be more adept and conscious than both men are prepared for. Alex Garland, who wrote and directed Ex Machina, is something of a fixture in sci-fi circles, having written the screenplay for 28 Days Later…, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go, and Dredd (the latter of which also starred Gleeson).
A24 is releasing Ex Machina in theaters on April 10th, but the movie will debut before that at SXSW.
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