Her Review

SPOILERS:

It is the future. Technology is much more advanced and self-aware artificial intelligence has become a reality. In the realm of cinema, most would associate such a premise with evil sentient machinery, big action scenes and general mayhem, death and destruction. But in oddball director Spike Jonze’s very capable hands, that premise is the starting-off point of Her, a sweet and unconventional romantic film that tackles the surprisingly touching relationship between a man and an artificial operating system.  

While this may seem ridiculous at first glance, remember that Her comes from a director who took an exceptionally bonkers idea in Being John Malkovich (a movie based around a room that leads you to a portal into actor John Malkovich’s mind) and turned it into a very insightful film about the meaning of self and identity. Her is much more accessible than Jonze’s debut feature and is equally as effective as it takes place in a quirky futuristic Los Angeles where technology has inescapably attached itself to every facet of people’s lives. And aside from the characters’ bright and colorful wardrobes and laughably high beltlines, this is a world that isn’t very far off from the one we exist in today. People frequently contact each other via instant messaging or through the numerous social media platforms that have quickly become universally popular. Especially amongst younger people, this form of contact has become a significant part of a relationship and face to face interaction has consequently taken a hit for that very reason.

And our portal into this eccentric uniquely Jonzian world is the slightly odd Theodore (Phoenix), a man who has recently separated from his wife Catherine (Mara) and has subsequently fallen into a seemingly endless depression. Although he isn’t a completely anti-social recluse, Theodore is a loner stuck in a day to day routine of drudgery and misery. Perhaps motivated by boredom and almost on a curious whim, he purchases an artificially intelligent operating system that’s the latest new-fangled flashy product available in the market. And to his (and the audience’s) surprise, he soon strikes up a friendship with the perennially inquisitive and immediately endearing system that calls herself Samantha. Even more surprisingly, that initial friendship soon turns into something much more substantial. 

The handling of that blossoming relationship and the self-awareness of the peculiarity of it all is definitely the strongest aspect of Her. Jonze wisely doesn’t pass judgement on this relationship and we see the characters that Theodore encounters react to it in different ways. Theodore’s ex-wife is appalled and repulsed while it is seen as a norm and nothing too unusual to his best friend Amy (Adams). Everything is familiar but distorted in some way, much of it to humorous effect. Samantha has insecurities that most women have about their bodies, but in her case, her insecurity stems from the fact that she doesn’t have a body. They have silly arguments and awkward moments much like a typical couple does but there’s nothing typical about them. Little things Samantha does begin to annoy a frustrated Theodore, except in “her” case, it happens to be things like her habit of breathing heavily when she’s flustered despite the fact that she has no need for oxygen. And all credit is due to the actors for making such a relationship believable. Scarlett Johansson does a great job of giving the Samantha character a genuine quality of sorts and Joaquin Phoenix conveys a subtle and layered relationship with what is basically just a disembodied voice with amazing ease.

Even though this film is primarily about Theodore and Samantha, it focuses on the difficulties people have in establishing a connection. Theodore has an ill-fated date with an actual woman and his friend Amy’s long-term relationship falls apart. Frequently throughout the film, we witness other characters in Theodore’s world passing him in the streets and they’re all lost in their own gadgets, perhaps each with their very own Samantha. It is at this point that we arrive at what is a deceiving contradiction. Although all these people do not even talk to each other and seem isolated, they’re not. They all seek and crave connection with someone, with anything. And Theodore’s choice of profession is no random choice or coincidence. Theodore is a man who spends his days writing personalized letters that clients pay for to send to their relatives and significant others. It is a profession that captures the sadness of the state of what people’s interactions have become in this new world but at the same time, it sheds light on an inescapable fact: these people still care about each other and still desire meaningful relationships. Therein lies the paradox of Theodore’s character: although he is capable of conveying all this emotion and love in his day job, it is not his love that he is expressing, and thus he is separated and detached from it. 

And that is where we come to the pivotal question that this film raises: does the fact that Samantha is an artificially intelligent entity make their relationship any less real or their feelings any less genuine? The stroke of genius of this movie is that it doesn’t give an easy or simple answer. Jonze presents a number of obstacles throughout and although Her starts to drag as it treads on some old and worn stages in a typical movie relationship, the whole thing is still fascinating to watch as we find parallels between the dissolution of Theodore’s marriage and his doomed relationship with Samantha. Theodore witnesses his ex-wife grow and change over the course of the years and isn’t able to bridge the gap between them anymore. And the exact same thing happens with Samantha except at a much accelerated level; the constantly and exponentially advancing Samantha eventually grows too complex to be content with loving just Theodore and leaves him behind, perhaps never to return.  But the key difference is that after his experiences with Samantha, Theodore has learned to overcome his past issues and open himself up to having a true connection with someone else. In the end, we see that the broken man we meet in the beginning of the movie has moved on and turned a new page.

Verdict: Although not the strongest or most memorable Spike Jonze effort, Her is an effective film that takes the old and drawn out relationship movie concept and turns it into something that is both refreshing and exceedingly topical.

B

Trailer:

Movie info:

Runtime: 126 minutes

MPAA Rating: R

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara

Director: Spike Jonze

Screenplay: Spike Jonze

Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema