Almost got a little teary-eyed there.

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2014)

What Spike Jonze does to the concept of "Her" is something that so many other filmmakers would do differently. This is a good thing.
Nothing in "Her" is in your face. Nothing is overstated. Zero forced exposition. Everything flows in a natural way, and even if you think you have seen this story before, you haven't. The movie treats you as a person, not as a dumb object. You believe everything, and what you aren't told, you get to chew on it yourself in your own mind without any of it getting in the way of the story.
"Her" is a movie about...well, it would be easy to say relationships, but it's so much more than that. It could also be about the essence of love, connection and soul. It is an honest, heartfelt movie. I couldn't believe how much I was thinking about myself, people I have loved and...everything.
For me the film was just long enough, because I enjoyed having that space for my own perceptions and feelings without missing a thing from the story. My friend on the other hand thought that it was a bit too long. Anyway, I feel the movie was paced perfectly.
Joaquin Phoenix is wonderful and he is the heart of this movie. I believed every word and move he said or made. He's the everyman in this not too distant future that is entirely believable - and that got me. I believed he was a real person, not an actor pretending to be a real person.
Scarlett Johansson's voice is another important character. You don't see her character, because her character is an operating system, an artificial intelligence that feels like a real sentient being. I have to say that it was an extremely smart move to make her sound natural, like a person. No forced robotic voice filters or expressions - she sounds exactly like a natural human being, which makes it easy to believe the romantic connection.
I have to give props to Johansson, because she too made her character feel real. Often I see her being just a pretty face in a movie, but here - boom! The face is gone, the body is gone and all we have is the voice, Phoenix's counteracting and of course our own imagination with the (sub)conscious notion that this voice belongs to an attractive woman. If you are a man or attracted to women - wouldn't you feel something for this "operating system" or at least your perception of it? Ask yourself this during the movie. I did.
Amy Adams is the everywoman, a friend of Phoenix's character. They don't have many scenes together, but they are meaningful. She does well enough to bring that human contrast into the mix.
As mentioned, "Her" doesn't shove messages in your face. But you can't help but feel something along this little story and mirror those feelings into your own life and the world around you. It is not a chick-flick although it has an intense romantic core to it. It is not a sci-fi movie even though those kind of elements do certainly play an important part in everything. It is definitely not a comedy despite some humorous moments. It is a sincere human movie first and foremost.
I will recommend "Her" to everyone. I'm still surprised about the amount of honesty and smart choices about where the story was going. I will go shed that tear right now, it's been hanging from my eye for quite some time.