Review of Her (2013) by Prodigy2013 — 11 Jan 2014

Spike Jonze is a filmmaker who’s built his career around creating quirky, inventive stories; that hardly shies away from commenting on society and the self. From his brilliant, yet sparse filmography, you can tell that he’s in no rush to make something unless he’s completely taken by the material.

With ‘Her’, Jonze has hit the jackpot. Never has the man made a more personal and moving picture! The movie focuses on, Theodore Twombly, a lonely writer who develops a relationship with his newly purchased operating system named Samantha.

From such a simple premise breathes a vast array of ideas that thoroughly provokes one’s thoughts, for hours… or even days after watching the film. Jonze’s screenplay was a profound piece of work, some may even say prophetic.

Set in the near future, where advanced means of technology and communication breeds more isolation; the elaborately layered script begs us to question what it really means to connect and the evolving forms love; one of the most mystifying brands of emotion that all humans desire.

In one instance, Theodore asks his friend Amy (played by the always reliable Amy Adams) if he’s a freak for being involved with a piece of software, and she remarks, “anyone who falls in love is a freak”.

Such rapport between characters, both recovering from broken relationships and yearning for some form of love, was great insight into man’s unwavering desire for the drug and how the elements of love itself changes over time.

Whether it was a way to avoid being in a “real” relationship or to just fully embrace love from someone he genuinely cared about; Theo and Samantha’s peculiar relationship felt real; thanks to excellent performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson.

Phoenix, just coming from his brilliantly manic role in ‘The Master’, plays an entirely different beast in ‘Her’. With such a warm presence, he makes his character completely relatable, despite being in an unusually unrelatable situation.

Close your eyes and “watch” this film; Johansson’s voice only work was a thing of beauty. In addition to the human themes of love and relationships, I could go deeper and comment on how the film flirts with the concept of artificial intelligence and the ever looming possibility of technological singularity (for better or worse); but I will keep this review the way Jonze developed his movie; as intimate as possible.

The film’s seamless blend of melancholy, intimacy and often times humor; shows tremendous skill from Jonze as both a screenwriter and director. The way he balances these genres and crafts the exquisitely designed world, of the “not so distant future”, demonstrates vision at its highest caliber.

The muted tones of the production design and cinematography were exceptional; and Arcade Fire’s score was splendid. Down to the vaguely futuristic outfits and high waist pants (donned by the men in this timeline), designed by costumer Casey Storm was a neat creative touch.

The future of this world was palpable. 2013 has brought us many fantastic films; that may very well resonate for decades to come. Her stands firmly among them as one of the year best; I was moved deeply by it.

Its moody subject matter, and the questions it poses on technology and relationships will continue to hit viewers years from now.