Review of Herø (2001) by Julia M — 15 Jul 2015

Year: 2013.

Rating: R.

Director: Spike Jonze.

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johansson.

Release Date: December 18, 2013.

Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Entertainment One.

Running Time: 126 minutes.

Film Worth: $47.4 million ("Her (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 11, 2015.).

A story about a middle-aged guy who spends his daily life swimming in misery ever since his beautiful wife, Catherine (played by Rooney Mara), left him. It was clear from their one meeting to discuss their divorce that they were not meant for each other. There was too much spoken and unspoken bitterness from both of them that you can't help but feel bad. A love that grew into hate. You'd ask yourself how could something so beautiful turn into waste.

Now back to Theodore's miserable state. He lives in a technology-driven world, believably not very distant from our present day, and spends most of his time interacting with the world using his devices.

Unsurprisingly, after some regular tech window-shopping (another lonely element in the movie), Theodore bought an OS that includes an AI (artificial intelligence) assistant who literally sorts out his life for him. A technology that can talk to him in the persona of Samantha-voiced by Scarlett Johansson. They clicked, they talked day and night, they laughed a lot, they bonded, they started having feelings for each other, they had sex, and eventually they started a relationship. That last part-it was very in-your-face. Like a gigantic mural painted on our ceilings, reminding us after we wake up or before we sleep, that in a not-so-distant-future, our technology could get the best of us. Could toy with our emotions, could render us unable to connect to the physical world because all we needed, the love we are looking for can be found in our pockets-within reach of our hands.

The moment Theodore fell in-love with Samantha, that was a moment I saw him more alone than ever-reflecting a world, where in-spite of 7 billion living, breathing human beings, a lot of us are still unloved. Alone in the crowd. Imagine the reactions he got when he had to explain that his girlfriend is a mobile device.

Now of course you can't just judge a movie based on how it made you feel-though I would argue that it's an unmistakable factor in deciding whether you like one or not. But honestly, the movie was very good-it gives and it takes. The cinematography and prose were beautiful and mesmerizing. Every shot, every moment in the film felt and looked like a dream-the colors and the beautiful landscape provided by the setting, as well as the brilliant performance from the actors made it a worthy dark-horse in the Oscar race.Jonze once again proves to the world that he is a creative genius. It's one of those films that lingers inside you for a while, twisting you from the inside or leaving you asking, "How can something so terribly sad look so utterly beautiful?" That is a question that Her can definitely answer.