Six hundred and forty one.

Rating: 10/10 (21 April 2016)

Great sci-fi takes us way beyond into worlds and futures that our imaginations can only dream of. Or perhaps something just around the corner, speculating on how our society might progress in the coming years. Her is made for a generation that always have their faces stuck on the screen of a smartphone, and simply switches that for an OS companion. The decor is cutesy pop indie; bright colours, sharp lines, bold shapes. But those are just the surroundings, which do not reflect the internal melancholy of Theodore Twombly. This first deceptive closeup bathes him in warm light and whispers of facile emotional intimacy. Then we realise it is just a letter, and not even his. He cues up sad songs robotically as if he has even lost his emotional function. Leaving the office, he dons his bright red jacket, which too is dulled by the cool blue smog of the future cityscape. It is all that keeps him from being swallowed up by the grey crowd and its collective sorrow. Loneliness within urban density - this irony has been a theme in more than a few films, but never more painfully than in Her.
Spike Jonze has made it that dating or befriending an OS is merely a natural extension of this loneliness and yearning. Furthermore the process has been perfected; the task of accumulating experiences and memories has been streamlined by trawling through mountains of data to become the perfect companion. But it doesn't seem facile. This is one of the film's great qualities - to cater to that loneliness and to provide such a convincing illusion. Johansson gives one of the best voice performances yet; she chuckles deeply as if she had a belly, she jokes and prods, she always knows the right thing to say. Close your eyes and listen to the interactions with the goddaughter, or at the picnic double-date. The dialogue is spot-on, and it sounds exactly like a conventional romance. The way that Hoytema has framed her perspective doubly creates a physical body to match with the husky affection; spinning around arm in arm, following over Theodore's shoulder, chasing him in the train station. The muted world comes alive with splashes of colour and song as their romance blossoms.
The abundance of shallow focus and bokeh is easily noted. There are several things that it addresses. One, it can be seen as a satirical jab at the sort of sappy romances that Theodore fantasises about and thinks he has with Samantha. Two, it serves to mute all other surroundings and accentuate that urban disconnect. The deep focus shots are few, but represent moments of authentic clarity and the absence of emotional baggage.
In the middle of the film we have the breakdown of the relationship and the attempts to recapture that spark by introducing another woman. The real-life link would be a threesome. This is also a threesome, in some ways, but subverts it cleverly. Isabella has the same sense of loneliness as Theodore, and too is struggling to find intimacy. As they converge, Theodore caresses, and we hear moans from both women, but there is a subtle difference in the way the sound has been processed. He turns her back to him because the physicality introduces a new, uncomfortable element into their relationship - he can't escape back to the purely aural intimacy they found previously. The perfection, the comfort, is marred.
It is only hereafter that he begins to realise her nature, the way she has been programmed to scour every corner of his life so she can be more dutiful, more playful, more supportive. Her comfort also means stagnation of his own personal growth. Theodore and Catherine used to push each other and grow, until he didn't and she could no longer be dragged down by him. Being tethered to an OS is the same thing; they continue to grow and evolve (eventually outlasting their humans) whilst Theodore stays put. It would be easy for Her to slip into cynical territory and condemn these lonely souls. But it resists this temptation. It allows them to find their own feet, to pen their own emotions after a lifetime of holding back from real challenges. Catharsis is gained. The city looks clearer and more beautiful than ever.