If you’re like the many who have seen writer-director Alex Garland’s EX MACHINA sometime in the last couple weeks, then it’s likely you are feeling a bit confused after having your emotions toyed with a similar way to that of the character of Caleb (played by Domhnall Gleeson). The perpetrator of these emotional hijinks is a robot named Ava, portrayed masterfully by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, perhaps best known in this country for roles in the period films ANNA KARENINA and A ROYAL AFFAIR (she was also featured as a young witch in the long-delayed SEVENTH SON earlier this year). And you’ll be seeing her a great deal as the year goes on in such films as THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., TESTAMENT OF YOUTH, TULIP FEVER (co-starring Christoph Waltz), THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (the latest from writer-director Derek Cianfrance), and THE DANISH GIRL, co-starring Eddie Redmayne.
Ava’s portrayal by Vikander is subtle and crafty. Is she an artificial intelligence who has gained consciousness and fallen in love with Caleb, or is she approximating human emotions and reactions to manipulate him, or is she simply self aware enough to do anything in her power to not get turned off by her maker, played by Oscar Isaac. It’s a remarkable performance from an actor I’m guessing will be a much talked about one in the year and years to come. Recently, I had a chance to speak with her briefly about EX MACHINA, and the nature of this machine and its capabilities is clearly something she’s spent an enormous amount of time thinking about, making for a great conversation. Please enjoy my chat with Alicia Vikander…
Alicia Vikander: Hi.
Capone: Hello. How are you?
AV: I’m very good. How are you?
Capone: Terrific. Where are you calling from?
AV: I’m right now in Spain.
Capone: That’s exciting. Let’s dive right in, since we don’t have much time. There’s such a wonderful economy of movement in your characte. Could talk about the decisions that you made regarding movement, lack of movement, and specific movement.
AV: Well I think something I found during the rehearsal period working with Alex was that, he gave me the key word, which helped me a lot during our conversation about trying to act like a girl, first of all, and then for me it was more about blending the little movements in between the little glitches and little hiccups that made it not sell as a girl, because then he would still hopefully get an emotional attachment to her. And what was interesting was that when I tried to be more perfect, do very delicate movements and feelings, when I would do things I thought were very human, it turned out to feel more robotic, I guess because the human thing is to be inconsistent and to have flaws. It was almost like the too-fluid movements without stop, when I saw the screen test in the beginning, it just read more artificial in a way.
Capone: You mentioned the conversations that you had with Alex and the rehearsals that you did, I imagine just hours and hours and hours of discussion before a single scene is filmed. You could almost make a movie just about that process. Was that the case?
AV: I wish we had the time. Unfortunately, making more movies like this one, an independent film, you never have that. So we had about a week, which in one way I think is a good thing. I think we all had done a lot of preparation by ourselves before we met up. It’s a topic that people watching it or that I’ve met—journalists—you get into it. You read more and you get interested in the subject. But then when it actually comes to rehearsal, we had to just get down to talking about the scenes and start to get into the room, because we didn’t have much time.
But of course, it was a conversation that continued throughout the entire shoot, but then it’s also the fact that it’s three very individual stories. Reading the script for the first time, you never know who to trust, and that’s part of the game. We also talked through and acknowledged the fact that we’re also making a thriller. So there are certain beats that you have to play out for the twists in the film to work, for the film as a whole, for the storytelling. That we talked about too.
Capone: I’ve seen the film twice now. Every single thing you do with your face is designed to seduce not only the Caleb character, but the audience as well. When we come out of this, we want Ava to be safe and to not be turned off, the same way that he does. Again, were you extremely aware of what your face was doing?
AV: Yeah. It was a challenge that I was very terrified taking on. But I felt very safe with Alex. To be able to do long scenes—dialogue scenes—that we did in this film is very rare. We could do runs where one take was 20 minutes, and then maybe do three in a row without stopping. We had an hour to get into character, which is very rare in filmmaking. And that for me, at least, I felt was a key thing. You imagine an idea of Ava, and when you’re well prepared, your instincts, you can rely on them and let go and not think too much. So you can be technical knowing a camera is close, and you should move your head and all that, but when it all comes down to the take, you have to let go and trust whatever imagination you have about your character and what you’ve done in the prep room or in the rehearsal.
Capone: What was your reaction to seeing Ava the first time with all the special effects in place? Because huge parts of you are see-through.
AV: [laughs] I had seen prototypes on my own. Because the silver mesh that that you see in the film was actually a whole body suit. There was no green screen or anything, so the shape that you see is me. They did have to build my forehead on top of my skull each morning. So it gave me a little sketch idea, looking at myself in the mirror. But I think both Domhnall and I carried around on our phones little video clips that the effects guys had made, prototypes of a few seconds of Ava with my shape that they had, and we carried that photo along with us. I was amazed by the beauty of this machinery. I’m so impressed with what they did. The robotics came down to single things. like wires, machines, steel, and glass. But when it’s put together like that, it’s really a piece of art.
Capone: Alex is one of those rare first-time directors who has been very involved in the films that he’s written. He’s always been a part of the process, and this film is so sophisticated. Could you even tell that this was the first thing that he’d actually directed?
AV: No. I wouldn’t call him a first time, or that’s definitely not the feel. The feel you get from Alex is definitely someone who is very secure, who has a vision. He’s written this amazing script, which is one of the best ones I’ve ever read, and still he is so open with us trying new things and not being pressured in one way about his own written words, even though we all thought it was amazing. He was pushing us to try things, and to have that confidence and calmness. He’s very emotional. He has an emotional intelligence that I think it helped us all in our work together. He’s a brilliant director.
Capone: When you’re reading that script, I can imagine it reads like literature and maybe not as much like a screenplay. With Ava’s descriptions, was there much in terms of stage directions?
AV: What I find in very good screenplays are ones that don’t actually have so much stage direction. It was based on the intelligence of the actual dialogue between those people. Hopefully it’s the same experience you had, which is also quite rare. It felt like I got so sucked into it. I didn’t feel, like you said, like I read a screenplay. It felt like I was actually in the story. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. What a good script does is kicks your imagination. So I think in the dialogue, I read a lot of what it thought those characters were very early on. I think it’s brilliant writing.
Capone: I wanted to ask about a specific scene. The first time we see Ava put on hair and a dress, it’s so beautifully calculated and manipulative—not in a sinister way, but she is definitely trying to revoke a response.
AV: What I like is that he chose to show her putting on the clothes, but not thinking that she’s watched. She’s behind that door in her own room, but once she actually thinks that he’s closed his eyes, I love that you can see the intensity and the feelings that she has. The longing. So that was a directorial choice, which I thought was great.
Capone: Oh yeah, it’s a great scene. Alicia, thank you so much, and best of luck with this.
AV: Oh, that’s lovely. I’m so happy. Thank you so much.
