The Machine ***
Writer-director Caradog W James tackles the age-old sci-fi fantasy of making artificial life with superior intellect in The Machine. The thriller raises the moral dilemma of playing god and the pitfalls of having such power to hand. In a sinister twist with recent events surrounding the missing Flight MH370, the film also brews political tension with a Cold War situation between China and the West, all within a sub-£1 million budget.
Toby Stephens plays neuroscientist Dr Vincent McCarthy who has both professional and personal reasons for success in his research into the most advanced artificial intelligence set to help mankind. Working in a covert laboratory in a special bunker for the Ministry of Defence, he hires AI expert programmer Ava (Caity Lotz) to complete the last puzzle of the jigsaw. However, tragedy sees the project take a sinister turn, with the MoD’s real aim to create the ultimate robotic solider that acts human but is indestructible in nature. Dr McCarty realises the worse but has fallen for his Machine.
The film’s harsh, stark production design adds a chilling atmosphere to an already foreboding presence that helps accentuate any warmth or feeling glimmering through, with a further harrowing subplot between father and sick child that resonates with any parent. For a low-budget film, there are a lot of themes comfortably at play here that make for a believable but disturbing premise. Lack of big budget means James delivers a lean project that has to concentrate on the characters’ psyches rather than CG to work.
Stephens is commendable in the role of Dr McCarthy, a contradiction in himself of a human only half surviving, running like a machine. His character makes a good contrast with that of Lotz’s cyborg. The US actress gives an impressive performance here, as memorable as Blade Runner’s Rachael (Sean Young) or Pris (Daryl Hannah). In fact, there has been a long-awaited need to revisit the subject of A.I., not satisfied by Warners’ smaltzy A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) with Haley Joel Osment as the cutesy robokid. James strips emotions to the bare essentials, but makes the subject a controversial challenge by the very nature of the setting.
The film does show its budget restraints at times in some of the fight scenes, but there are raw choreographed moves involving Lotz that more than make up for this. That said the ‘birth’ scene is highly visual and there is a sense that James spent a good portion of his effects budget getting this part right. In his claustrophobic setting, life pulses to be born and survive which makes for an infectious end aim.
Overall, The Machine has a chic, sparse style to it within a highly believable, near-future dystopia that with actual advances in modern science is hard to merely write off as fictional. There is the totally obvious ending and desired sequel set-up, but here’s hoping not one that tarnishes the pure intrinsic beauty of this film’s design quality if more money were thrown at it.
3/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
by lgileskeddie
