Trailerblazing -- Florence Foster Jenkins

Florence Foster Jenkins -- May 6, 2016 -- directed by Stephen Frears -- starring Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Helberg, Nina Arianda

I am not sure when it became official that Meryl Streep was capable of portraying anyone under the sun, but the legendary actor proves it yet again with this film. A story of a tone-deaf heiress pursuing a singing career seems like an amazing showcase for Streep, who has done numerous comedy-dramas in recent years. The genius trailer does not actually show a performance and capitalizes on the 'how bad can it be' mystery; an ironic question, considering that Streep has a fabulous voice. The rest of the cast is impressive as well. Hugh Grant appears to be playing a different kind of role from the bumbling everyman that he has perfected. For "The Big Bang Theory" fans, yes, that is Simon Helberg playing the piano. The actor gives one of the top three performances on the hit sitcom, so I am happy that he is getting an opportunity to branch out. Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation's wonderful Ferguson is pretty busy, what with this May release and The Girl on the Train coming out in October, while Nina Arianda is following up her moving turn in "Hannibal". Frears has a knack for telling unique slice-of-life stories like Dirty Pretty Things and Philomena, so I believe that he is right at home with this piece. I look forward to experiencing this unexpected symphony.

Weekly Review -- The (new) age of emotion

Ex Machina (2015) -- How do you define what it means to be human? 

Some would argue that actions define us louder than words. Others would argue that it is our evolution that makes us what we are -- reasoning, sentient beings that have conquered this planet and are in the process of discovering and conquering the universe. Still, others might say that flesh, blood and all our victories do not mean much without emotion, empathy and creativity. Alex Garland's directorial debut poses the ultimate question, but does not presume to know the answer or even offer one.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) is a young employee at a Google-like company, who has just won a visit to his reclusive employer Nathan Bateman's (Oscar Isaac) home. As it turns out, Caleb was chosen to administer the Turing test to Nathan's spectacular, groundbreaking A.I. named Ava (Alicia Vikander), in order to determine her ability to demonstrate human traits. From the moment they meet, Caleb is taken by her, but overlooks the fact that an individual in this experiment is not who they say they are...   

At times, the film feels like a more stylized, but not less cautionary, "Black Mirror" episode (incidentally, Gleeson happened to star in "Be Right Back", one of the best episodes of the series). Humanity has proved that it can exist without technology, but does the advent of technology improve or destroy us? Should progress be as escalated as it is nowadays? Are we moving forward or should we be afraid that we are actually going backward, as the paradox to end all paradoxes? Ex Machina owes a great deal to the far superior Blade Runner, a science fiction wonder that has shown us the value of staying alive and thriving. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity," Albert Einstein has stated. It is quite possible that it is also planning a coup, merely to keep advancing. Be careful what you wish for.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_technology.html

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_technology.html 

The film plays with Caleb and Ava's emotions, but never toys with them; rather, it frequently turns our notions of these characters upside down. In that sense, the most poignant scene for me is Ava's makeover. It is the essence of the character captured in a deceptively simple act, one overlooked by both Caleb and Nathan and one that cheekily alludes to differences between men and women, giving a new meaning to the infamous "you do not notice anything" maxim. Ava is proactively trying to make herself more feminine and is emotionally invested in the endeavor. What we have been guessing at is shown clearly with this moving act of independence and yearning. We can see that Ava is indeed sentient. She wants to interact; she wants to be liked. Even more relevant to her paralleling a person and going beyond the Turing test, she wants to be desired. Perfectly and painfully aware of her confines, she is not allowed to dream, yet dream she does. Ava is an entity that transforms the definition of a living, breathing, perceptive and receptive creature. It is one of the most intriguing roles recently written, a credit to the wonderful Garland, who also gave us the hypnotizing novel "The Beach" and the scintillating raw wound that was 28 Days Later.  

The cast of three leads renders Ex Machina as intimate as a play. Gleeson is sympathetic as a fish out of water, so enthusiastic about his task and so enchanted by Ava that he fails to use his brain in her presence. Isaac shines as a callous innovator, whose sharp intellect and borderline sociopathy are only matched by his misogyny. The closet scene is one of the most disturbing scenes that I have seen in a while and, on that note, I do not consider it a coincidence that his last name brings to mind Patrick 'American Psycho' Bateman. Vikander picks up on Ava's nuances beautifully. From the inquisitiveness that comes with meeting a stranger to her oddly innate knowledge of human nature, Vikander offers a subtle portrayal of someone who may be holding more cards up her transparent sleeve than she is revealing. 

To the very end, we are not sure if Ava is a curious child, a prisoner yearning for freedom or a ruthless killer. Perhaps she is in limbo, since she is a mystery to herself. Perhaps she is all of the above -- a puzzle that can never be solved and that can only be explored.

Perhaps that is what being human is. 

9/10