Review of Herø (2001) by Matthew C — 23 Sep 2016

Well, now I know that Spike Jonze can write as well as direct.

Her is a great little film-and I do mean little. The movie keeps itself contained, not going for any stupid little "save the world" thing, instead striving for a straightforward romance(mostly). I feel like if this movie was directed by anyone else, it would have had so much stupid stuff getting in the way of its goal, but luckily Spike Jonze knows what he's doing. Now, let's delve into the objective parts of the film.

The acting is fantastic. Joaquin Phoenix sells his performance as a lonely guy, and Scarlett Johansson was great as his OS. The cinematography is great, with a lot of vibrant colors and interesting angles to chew on. There's some great music in this, which I thought was very nice, and fit the mood extremely well. And finally, of course, the writing is amazing, with dialogue that doesn't sound forced, and meaningful conversations that sound meaningful. One thing I'd like to mention additionally, is that this film has some amazing sets. The sets remind me of 2001: A Space Odyssey, in how they seem so real, that the movie really could be set 10 years in the future. What makes the sets so good is that they don't go over the top; they only make changes where there likely WILL BE changes in the future. That kind of subtlety and forethought just deserves praise.

Theodore in this movie reminds me of Barry Egans from Punch-Drunk Love. Both are unlucky in love. But besides that, what makes them alike? Barry is antisocial, while Theodore is popular. Barry has never experienced love, while Theodore is divorced. What ties them together is their pure love that they feel towards their NEW lovers. Even though Theodore has felt love before, this movie is a new chapter for him, and like a chapter, it ends. But beyond that, his life goes on. Maybe he fell in love with someone else, maybe not. But all that matters for him is the beautiful time that he gets to spend with Samantha- and all that matters for us is the amazing time we get to spend with him.