Ex Machina

Film Contexts: Contemporary British Film

From our study of Ex Machina as a contemporary British film answer these general institutional, social, political, cultural contextual questions:

How typical was its funding model?

Typical enough for a small studio – Garland had stated he wanted to make the movie on a small enough budget as possible. The budget was  $15 million, and being so small, did not reflect the eventual success of the film.

How did it fit into the landscape of distribution and exhibition in the UK?

In the UK, the film was distributed by Universal Pictures. The marketing of the movie was also somewhat unique – a tinder profile was created for Ava, matching with other users and eventually leading them to the promotion of the film. Using social media as a method of engaging their audience, Ex Machina also catered to the younger generation.

To what extent is Alex Garland a director of British films? Or is he less of a cultural Auteur and more of a commercial Auteur, if he is an auteur at all?

Considering Ex Machina is Garland’s directorial debut, it is hard to label him a director of British films, let alone an auteur. It can be argued that he had a large sphere of influence over his many previous works by writing the screenplay; ultimately, however, it is the director who has the final say.

What transnational production, distribution, and exhibition links does Ex Machina have to ‘Hollywood’?

Ex Machina was distributed by one of Hollywood’s ‘Big Six’ studios – Universal Pictures. In terms of production, the theme song of Ghostbusters is used in the music score, a film recently rebooted by the Hollywood studio Sony Pictures.

To what extent is Ex Machina a ‘global’ or ‘international’ film rather than a British film?

The film was only released in 2 countries – in the UK and USA. Ex Machina is definitely an ‘international’ film due to the success it had in both countries but as far as ‘global’ films go, it wasn’t even released in half of the world’s continents – therefore it cannot be called a global film.

Does Ex Machina offer an ‘outsiders’ perspective on its narrative content? Is this typical of British films? How might this be a response to social or cultural change?

Ex Machina does pursue an outsider’s perspective, the audience are presented with an unknown character in an unknown environment with an unknown goal, which in my opinion, is the opposite from the perspective commonly shown in British movies (often British movies are from an inside perspective and offer relatable perspectives.)

How does Ex Machina rely on British literary and/or theatrical culture for its inspiration?

Garland has stated that the previous movies he has worked on (including Sunshine and Dredd) were part of the inspiration for  Ex Machina. It does take precedence after several popular artificial intelligence films, such as AI: Artifical Inteligence, I, Robot and Blade Runner.

Is the real truth that both British films, and the UK Film Industry, are effectively a small-budget adjunct to ‘Hollywood’ socially, politically, and culturally with little in the way of a distinctive cinematic vision, economic power, intellectual rigour, narrative confidence, or creative achievement in the 21^st century?

Contemporary British Film Genres: Ex Machina

Is Ex Machina culturally or institutionally British?

Was Ex Machina a commercial or critically successful film?

Due to the small budget of the film and only releasing in 2 countries, the film wasn’t that big a commercial success. However it was a huge critical success.

How does Ex Machina fit in to our expectations of genre and British film? How helpful is it to consider Ex Machina in generic terms?

It is helpful to consider Ex Machina in generic terms because, as the audience, it makes it easier to determine whether we want to see the movie or not. Ex Machina is now widely seen as a highly rated science fiction film, and is considered by some the best British science fiction film of all time, winning an Oscar for best Visual Effects.

Is the concept of a ‘British film’ a genre in itself?

Because genres can overlap, and multiple British movies are a part of many genres, I personally do not think ‘British film’ can be a genre. Two films can be culturally and institutionally British, however their themes and presentation be completely different from each other.

Does Ex Machina use genre to explore or evade notions of Britishness?

In your opinion who are genres for, audiences, critics, or institutions?

All three. Institutions use genres for marketing and advertising, so that they can target a specific audience. It makes it easier to target an audience. Critics use genres to compare films to similar films, and draw a conclusion. Audiences use genres to decide which types of films they like and which films they will go and see.

How does knowledge of genre help our understanding of the relationship between contemporary British cinema and ‘Hollywood’?

How does an understanding of popular British film genres help add to our knowledge of Ex Machina?

With more understanding of popular British film genres the more Ex Machina seems out of place