Writer and director Alex Garland’s Academy Award-winning film Ex Machina follows eccentric genius Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac) and contest winner Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) as they test Nathan’s creation, an Artificial Intelligence robot called Ava (Alicia Vikander), for signs of humanity. The concept of creating life artificially always draws parallels to Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, but one difference from the original is that this genius does not appear to be quite as alone as Shelley’s titular genius. Instead, Nathan had a mute servant named Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno) around the testing facility who he regarded as less than human for the majority of the film. While Nathan is a raging misogynist, that is not the real reason for his mistreatment of her; it is that she is an older model of
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He blames Victor for all of the situations that he had to endure over his lifespan. Had it not been for Victor’s desire to play God and create a superhuman entity, then the Creature would not have been physically injured and cast out by actual human beings as well as psychologically tormented by his solitude. When he goes to Victor to beg for a companion with whom to share his life, he tells Victor directly that if his loneliness is not cured, then he shall continue to inflict harm and cause fear though only to Victor because, as his creator, the Creature “[swears] inextinguishable hatred” (104). Kyoko’s resent stems from the mistreatment she suffers at Nathan’s hands. Although she does not have a single line of dialogue in the entirety of the almost two hour movie, the hopelessness is written all across her face. When Nathan suggests that Caleb dance with Kyoko, her face is completely blank and it is evident that, despite what Nathan insists, she does not enjoy dancing. It is this loathing that leads to Kyoko’s stabbing Nathan in order to get her revenge on
He blames Victor for all of the situations that he had to endure over his lifespan. Had it not been for Victor’s desire to play God and create a superhuman entity, then the Creature would not have been physically injured and cast out by actual human beings as well as psychologically tormented by his solitude. When he goes to Victor to beg for a companion with whom to share his life, he tells Victor directly that if his loneliness is not cured, then he shall continue to inflict harm and cause fear though only to Victor because, as his creator, the Creature “[swears] inextinguishable hatred” (104). Kyoko’s resent stems from the mistreatment she suffers at Nathan’s hands. Although she does not have a single line of dialogue in the entirety of the almost two hour movie, the hopelessness is written all across her face. When Nathan suggests that Caleb dance with Kyoko, her face is completely blank and it is evident that, despite what Nathan insists, she does not enjoy dancing. It is this loathing that leads to Kyoko’s stabbing Nathan in order to get her revenge on