A response to Lost in Translation

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2014)

I can't imagine a film like "Her" being ever made. It is the most unforgettable film of 2013; It's full of brilliant performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, and Scarlett Johansson as the voice of an operating system dubbed the OS1. For the most part, the film is an expressive character study bolstered with tear-jerking drama and rom-com wits. Spike Jonze, the director of Being John Malkovich and Where the Wild Things Are builds a guileful narrative so amorous it's almost a spell-binding drama it's impossible to resist.
What makes the film interesting is its main character Theodore (played by Phoenix) whose life is falling apart he becomes stuck physically and emotionally. Theodore works as a writer of love letters. Everything seems uneven and melancholic in his life including his botched relationship with his wife (played by Rooney Mara) where they're about to reach their conclusion for a divorce. Theodore is the typical anti- social man.
When he buys an operating system called the OS1, he meets an Artificial Intelligence introducing herself as Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), a husky voiced female AI which understands human emotions including Theodore's melancholy. Samantha is so baffling, Theodore knows this, but he didn't seem to care as long as he will at least have someone to talk to.
Suddenly, as expected Theodore gets very fond with the thing. This is very genuine at least in reality where a person builds affection with something inanimate or unbeknownst to them. After getting settled with Samantha, he builds a sheer affection with the thing despite being not real, even sexually. Their chemistry builds strong warmth especially in the second act.
The movie's set in a near-distant future where technology is advanced; People tend to use speech recognition to all sorts of things. Jonze's production designer team and the cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema build flamboyant textures of the city and a great creation of an advanced and poetic world.
Spike Jonze structures the narrative an effective drama than a rom-com. With this story so brilliant and potent, viewers will get what they want. The moment we gather Theodore's melancholy piling up, we find ourselves sharing the same anxiety. But despite of this, we get the comic relief that Theodore and Samantha builds through the entire film. Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore is simply renowned for his genuine portrayal of a lonely archetypal man. Johansson as the voice of OS1 is generated with panache for dramatic execution. Viewers will recognize how Johansson's able to cosset and entertain them like how she does it to Theodore.
In some ways, this movie could be a response to Lost in Translation. The director Spike Jonze is divorced to Sofia Coppola, the director of that film. The narrative is almost similar in all terms, but either is triumph. Jonze's character of Theodore could be a surrogate of himself, the same could be said with Coppola's character Charlotte played by Johansson. If you have seen both films, you get the idea.
All in all, "Her" should not be missed for viewing. It's a shame that this film hit the theaters before year-end. It is one of the most romantic films of 2013, suitable for Valentine's Day.