Strangely enough, I thought that the style (as opposed to the substance in a certain way) of the movie was very similar to the
one of David Fincher in Gone Girl.
- The soundtrack is of the same genre/type & is following the same patterns. It is to a great extent synchronized to what's happening in the movie, you feel that especially during very stressful moments (paranoia of the main character, build-up to twists, etc.).
- The atmospheres :
. Materially speaking: closed huge & controlled spaces essentially which contrast with the very few big open spaces ; the indoor spaces are almost monochrome and uncluttered ("épuré"), as if the minimal type of music was fleshed out into the setting ("décor ") of the movie. Psychologically speaking, the culminating moments of pressure which are unleashed in a progressive manner have been seen in both movies.
- The presence of very few important people/actors (only 3 in Ex Machina, 4 or 5 in Gone Girl). The main characters are all freaks & hard to comprehend - as opposed to normal & predictable behaviours. This part of their personality gets revealed unexpectedly & only at specific moments, giving with that "you never know who's the crazier" feel, even if at the very beginning we were thinking that the characters were fairly understandable.
- The existence of several twists succeeding one another who turn everything around in terms of scenario. There are many layers
of story, and each story can be read differently by switching the POV, leading an enlightened viewer to acknowledge enough "fairness" for each character in his deeds, since they don't have the same objectives of mentality. The spectator can also change sides throughout the story, and sometimes feel "neutral" as he relates or at least empathize with every one of them (equally disgusted by those of Gone Girl, equally supportive of Ex Machina's characters).
- An open ending that can lead to completely different outcomes & each one of them can be arguable in many regards (will she merge into society, or will she show violent behaviours ? for Ex Machina ; will the couple fight again and try to fuck each other for the rest of their life, or will they calm down and ignore themselves while
living in peace ? for Gone Girl). Both endings trigger reflection as to how the viewer could have reacted & behaved if he were in the characters' shoes, as well ass deeper thoughts about society issues (marriage & family ; AI & technology development) .
A Google search does only include 2 entries confirming my theory/claim. Both are solid critics of the movie which
clearly pinpoint that the movie has a "Fincheresque" feel to it. So I guess I'm not totally overthinking my stuff.
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