Review 305: Her

Her is a mesmerising romantic sci fi film, one of Spike Jonzes best films and a wonderful take on modern human relationships.

In the year 2025 Los Angeles, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is a complex, soulful, lonely, introverted man who makes his living writing touching, personal love letters for other people who have difficulties expressing their feelings. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship with his childhood sweetheart Catherine (Rooney Mara), he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive entity in its own right, individual to each user. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet "Samantha," a bright, female voice (Scarlett Johansson), who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual love for each other.

The plot is wonderful. At the heart of it is a love story but not a love story in a conventional sense because instead of being a boy meets girl/falling in love kind of story, it's a story about a guy and his relationship with his O.S. 
Now normally we as an audience would find this premise creepy but Spike Jonze handles it in such a sensitive way we grow to care about the those two characters and hope their relationship will turn out well. The entire crux of Theodore and Samantha's relationship is one based solely on love, joy and heart and there's nothing cynical about their relationship or how it's portrayed and there's nothing beyond that.

Through his relationship with Samantha, Theodore becomes a better person and he does the same to Samantha, so as the film goes on they rub off each other in a way that's beautifully touching to watch unfold.

That relationship ultimately shows us that love can defy all matters of what you are as a person and how we see one another.

Possibly the best thing about Her is that it comments on and is a view on society today and what it might become in the not so distant future as it shows how dependent we have become on technology and our devices in recent years and about the human desire to reach out connect with others.
Some people speculate that a love between a human and a computer is possible but is that really any different than most people and their lives today. We're constantly on our gadgets, phones and social networks.

We as human beings want to go out and have relationships with other people but we are constantly on our cell phones and social networks but Spike Jonze does this not to criticise us but as a way of warning us subtly that relationships with our laptops an phones can be unhealthy.

Another theme of Her can be interpreted as Purpose: As human beings we all search for meaning and purpose in our lives and we all want to why we are on this Earth a sentiment that's beautifully echoed by Samantha herself. According to Her, we, as human beings, amongst other things, are here to love.

Writer/director Spike Jonzes direction is sensitive, the cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty and texture of Jonze's vision of 2025 Los Angeles.

The production design is amazing and alive with detail. Jonze's vision of what L.A. looks like in 2025 is stunning. One of the most beautifully detailed vibrant visions of future ever put to screen, everywhere people go they, they are surrounded by all this really appealing technology and bright colours from warm pinks, baby blues and light yellows a gorgeously looking appealing one at that.

The costumes are fabulous, the score by Arcade Fire is magnificent, the lighting is wonderful, the make up is rich, the locations are sensational, the scenery is breathtaking, the props are well crafted and the effect of the ending is beautifuly and fittingly heartbreaking.

The acting is all marvellous though the star actor has to be Scarlett Johansson as Samantha.
What makes her performance so great is that you see a girl, just her voice and she gives her so much character and emotion. After she's set up by Theo, she grows very attached to him and he grows attached to her and the journey they go on is really touching.

Joaquin Phoenix proves once again he's a great actor as Theodore Twombly, he's a man who's gone through a big divorce and as a result, has become lonely, introverted and unhappy.
Until he meets Samantha he seems to just pass through life with his only fulfilment being living vicariously in other's romance through writing of his letters.
Deep down, he longs for human connection again, he desperately needs love to give him purpose 

This results in him being reclusive albeit reluctantly. Normally if we were introduced to a character who is attached to his phone we wouldn't like him but his sympathetic characterisation and his problem and arc make us care about him.  

Roony Mara's screentime is limited but when she comes into a scene she lights it up with her own brand of talent, she loved Theo in the beginning but now everything has changed and she has her own problems with coming to terms with the divorce and as a result she has become a bit cynical and not very fanatical as Theo and his friend Amy (Amy Adams) and holds a grudge on Theo as a result.

Amy Adams is great as Amy. She is a really good friend to Theo and as the film progresses she goes on her own less detailed journey with her own OS and Adams portrays that really well.

Olivia Wilde, Matt Letscher and Chris Pratt round out the cast with

Her is a wonderful sci fi romance that shows theres love out there for everyone, just not as we expect it to turn out, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.