Jonze's best work - don't miss it.

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2014)

I trust Spike Jonze. When I first heard about Her's concept I imagined, due to the indoctrinating effects of the perpetual excretion of "smart" Hollywood rom-coms, a nice little quirky love story with a really socially relevant gimmick. I thought that could work, or, in another's hands, fail miserably. But I trust Spike Jonze. He's never fallen within creativity's first standard deviation, so I was cautiously optimistic that I'd be blown away. This project was clearly much more to Jonze than a rom-com with a twist. It's not a hard concept to conceive of, and people have probably imagined it well before Jonze. Those people probably couldn't have committed to pursuing the concept with such emotional, philosophical, technical, and creative intelligence.
Spike Jonze created a deep world for his characters and his plot in which to interact, and the society the characters occupy interacts dynamically with the characters, as another character might, as they make their way through the plot. The society Theodore lives in isn't far from how it is today. It's still the age of the tech toy. We worship the tech gods year-round waiting for patent leaks and ratings and awards and conventions. The top tech companies devote development to incorporating more and more technology into our lives, and they do it because it's exactly what we've proved we want. This may sound disconcerting, but it's happening regardless. Eventually, according to Her, we make our way to consumer AI: OS 1. "My OS . . ." "Do you have an OS?" It's a product, the new thing; it probably swept CES. Suddenly, for a whole society, the ability to own a fully-conscious AI is a reality, and Jonze doesn't forget to use that vital dynamic to help tell his story. The social implications of technology people can actually develop relationships with are handled with incredible insight from Jonze who explores a person and society's willingness to change and proclivity to love and accept.
I'll touch on a couple conventions or concepts Jonze tackles in the film, but bear in mind that these explorations are never out of place and contribute to completing the story:
Her is sexually fascinating. Jonze asked honest questions about the nature of sexuality in a relationship between a human and an AI, and he even considered the AI's potential insecurities over the inability to interact physically. From there he dives into considering how people might circumvent the issue and what complications might arise from such a situation. Jonze is entirely honest about the spectrum of sexuality and applies it to the story well.
Jonze explores the isolating effects of technology, especially for Theodore, who escapes into entertainment and information after a separation from his wife. Samantha seemingly brings him out of his technology cocoon, but, considering that she herself is technology, we wonder if he's isolating himself or not. Is she a companion?
Beyond these social ideas explored through the film's concept, Jonze greatly expands upon the implications of AI, especially the potential for AIs to form communities.
The acting was all around excellent as can be expected from such a capable group of actors and actresses. Joaquin Phoenix is impressive and nuanced as always. He plays timid, heartfelt, odd, and sad very well. This role is so entirely the opposite of his last performance as Freddy Quell in The Master which, while being maybe the greatest performance in a decade, doesn't overshadow the emotional depth and authenticity he displays through Theodore. Scarlet Johansson brings a lot of energy and life into her role. Her job here goes beyond what most voice acting requires since there's no animate analogue (as there would be in most voice acting situations) to lend to expression. This movie simply would not have worked as well if the actress voicing Samantha didn't bring the necessary humanity and emotion into the character. Luckily Johansson knocked it out of the park. The supporting cast was excellent. Most movies have that one miscast in the secondary, but you won't find it in Her.
Beyond the well-developed concept and the keen observations was just plain old great writing. You can have a great concept and cool ideas to explore, but if the dialogue is s**t you're done. Every conversation is developed with great care and that special quality that makes for interesting writing. Writers like Jonze, Noah Baumbach, David O. Russell, Woody Allen, et cetera have that gift for interesting writing and Jonze pulls out his best writing by a considerable margin. Every bit of it is that 10% of gold found in most films.
There's a ton more to analyze and critique, but I don't want to give any spoilers and that sort of stuff is better suited for an essay or something anyway. Hopefully something I said was enough to get you to experience this film. 9.7/10