Oscar Isaac has had an interesting trajectory in his acting career. He started in impressive indie dramas that showed his brilliant acting chops. He started off appearing in supporting roles in films like Che, Body of Lies, and Robin Hood. Audiences started noticing him in indie projects like Drive, Inside Llewyn Davis, and The Most Violent Year, where his performances were praised.
One of his most interesting and exciting performances was in Alex Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina. The sci-fi thriller features a standout scene where Isaac’s character breaks out into a dance number with his assistant abruptly halfway through the film. Fans old and new are having a field day with the scene and praising the film’s brilliance.
Fans Are Still Amazed By Oscar Isaac’s Brilliant Dance Number in Ex Machina
2015’s sci-fi thriller Ex Machina saw Oscar Isaac playing the CEO of a giant tech company. He enlists a programmer played by Domhnall Gleeson to help in the experimentation of an AI robot played by Alicia Vikander. One of the standout moments of the film is the entertaining dance sequence with Isaac and his assistant played by Sonoya Mizuno.
In the serious and intense thriller, this fun scene came out of nowhere and caught audiences by surprise. Those who have watched the film are fondly remembering the sequence and the brilliant placement of it in the film. The addition of the fully red aesthetic to it adds to the weird intrigue of the peppy scene.
On X, fans are heaping praise on Isaac’s performance in the scene and the hyper-cool vibe in a rather intense sci-fi narrative. Some are comparing it to the dance scene in 2023’s Poor Things with Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone. Here are some of the reactions on X,
Yeah, it’s fantastic.
The effort that went into making that great was totally worth it.
— CINETRON (@CINETRONN) May 27, 2024
Yes!!!! It's like Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things!!
I couldn't imagine those two films without the out-of-nowhere dancing scenes, they were amazing
— Roberto Makoto🤘🏾🔺📼👾 (@MakotoKorp) May 27, 2024
ex machina is so well made
— Panos Karabelas (@panoskarabelas1) May 28, 2024
she’s so right
— Alpha_Navi btw (@Alpha_Navi) May 27, 2024
"I'm gonna tear up the fckn dance floor dude, check it out" 🤣🤣
— Max Goldhart (@QuantumTycoon) May 28, 2024
Director Alex Garland has told Buzzfeed how the scene “was an instinct to sort of slap the thing in the face a bit.” In other words, he wanted to surprise and intrigue audiences by putting a scene that they didn’t expect. Ex Machina was raved by critics and grossed $38 million against a $15 million budget (via The Numbers).
Oscar Isaac Knew People Would Dig The Weird Dance Number in Ex Machina
Oscar Isaac‘s brilliant yet weird dance number in Ex Machina was loved by audiences. The unexpected scene was always intended to be in the part of the film, and in an interview with Moviefone, Isaac stated that they had shot an even longer cut of the scene.
The actor was pleased that the editors were able to cut the perfect amount for the film. Isaac loved the ironic aspect of the scene and how he had always thought that the scene was going to work. The actor predicted that audiences would initially question its existence in the film but later celebrate it. Isaac said,
Yeah, we spent a few days with a choreographer choreographing that. It’s actually twice as long. We did almost the entire song. But, wisely, they used the perfect amount. It was such a disco non sequiter. It’s one of the last things you would have expected from this movie. From the moment we started shooting, we thought, This is amazing. People are going to be like, What the f*ck is this?
The film was the perfect debut for Alex Garland as a director after he had already proven his screenwriting skills with films like 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go, and Dredd. Isaac has since gone on to star in big franchises like Star Wars (modern trilogy), Marvel (X-Men: Apocalypse and Moon Knight), and Dune.
Fans can watch Ex Machina on Max.
