10 Things That Almost Changed 2015's Biggest Movies
2. Ex Machina Originally Ended With A P.O.V. Shot From Ava's Perspective
Here's a very, very tiny moment that would have changed Alex Garland's mini-masterpiece Ex Machina, one of the year's best and most intriguing films, in a massive way.
The film originally ends with Ava, an A.I., escaping from the compound where she was built to pursue a new life, only to board a helicopter, tricking the pilot into thinking she's real. The film ends afterwards on the vague notion of Ava out there in the real world.
Originally, though, the film was going to go down a different route, as actress Alicia Vikander explained during an interview about the film. The moment was set to take place as the pilot gets out of the helicopter and begins to speak:
"You saw his face moving, but from her point of view, it was just like pulses and sounds coming out. Thats what she reads. So in that scene, what used to happen is youd see her talking, and you wouldnt hear, but all of a sudden it would cut to her point of view. And her point of view is completely alien to ours. Theres no actual sound; youd just see pulses and recognitions, and all sorts of crazy stuff. It was that moment where you think, Oh she was lying!'"This tiny moment would have altered the film dramatically, draining a lot of its inherent ambiguousness. It's a good thing, perhaps, that Garland ultimately opted to lose it.