Interesting and original

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2014)

While I wouldn't say I was moved by this film, it's still a great achievement by Spike Jonze, who wrote and directed it. Shanghai is an amazing and refreshing choice in which to film a city of the future, in which there are so many people around and every convenience at our fingertips, but human connection is still elusive. The film asks many questions such as: what is a relationship? And, if loving a computer is delusional, then aren't some human relationships also contrived and delusional? And unlikely to last? Theodore goes on a date early in the film with a beautiful (real) young woman, but she cuts it short, disappointed with a perceived slight he made, accusing him of not looking for a relationship. It's really unfair, and totally random as well -- she acts just like a computer. Theodore's friend, Amy, confesses that like Theodore, she has made a computer friend, and she asks him, isn't any joy OK? Isn't it still joy? Theodore gets immense joy from a little computer generated hologram in his computer game, who is funny and crude. Who's to say that that joy isn't real? And if Theodore's job is to write fake letters for people unable to express themselves, is that morally questionable? Is it a sign of society's disconnect from our emotions, or is it, in fact, a sign that people care about one another and want to connect?