Her

Rating: 10/10 (14 January 2014)

Spike Jonze's Her is one of the most perceptive, original and truthful films I have seen in quite awhile dealing with love, loss and loneliness. The film takes place in the not so distant future, but everything in it seems believable and even the more science fiction, or futuristic parts of the film all seem like things that could be next, or coming up for us. The story about a man falling in love with his operating system does sound quite unusual I do admit, but when you watch the film, several things become quite apparent during this time. First off, the film's lead character Theodore. We see him as he goes to work each day and how he doesn't seem like all that joyful a person. He goes to work, spends a few hours at home playing video games, but he really does not have too many connections to the outside world and other people other than those he runs into once in awhile at work. We see the loneliness and sadness in his eyes and demeanor, as he tries to reach out a couple of times and yet we sense a certain awkwardness and hesitation on Theodore's part and realize that he is socially awkward with both women and men and perhaps also because of bad relationships in the past he is shielding and more or less protecting himself from getting hurt again. Now enter Theodore's new operating system, which calls itself, Samantha and can talk with him, joke with him and the two of them bond and connect during their conversations with one another, despite the fact that Samantha, is just a computer and there is no real intimacy, or human connection to this relationship, other than what is on the surface. I think this is one of the things Theodore loves so much about it. Samantha, is always there for him to help with his electronic files and such, but also as someone to talk to whenever he wants to and someone he can talk about things he might normally have difficulty talking to others about. At the same time, Samantha is more than just a computer system in the way that she can actually carry on conversations, joke, make anecdotes and carrying on with Theodore in conversations like she is right there in the room with him and knows him personally and deeply. The film is about as I mentioned above, love loneliness and loss as Theodore becomes a much different person when he has Samantha with him and he also looks at the world in an entirely different way. However what I think the film is trying to say here is, is this normal? Should a relationship like this be able to function? And in a sense isn't Theodore in a way, going back to his old antisocial ways and not really bonding with any human beings, but instead a piece of electrical equipment? The film looks at this from all these angles and the great thing about this movie is that we can certainly empathize with Theodore, because who out of all of us has never felt lonely, or sad and just wanted to reach out to someone in those moments of desperation. At the same time we feel sad for Theodore, as this is the only stable thing in his life at the moment and we see how he badly needs a human relationship and someone real to talk to, whether it be a romantic relationship, or otherwise. The film is quite original in it's way of depicting all of this, but it never feels weird, or out of the norm. It all feels believable and an accepted form of society. I love how Spike Jonze gives so many different aspects and layers to his characters here, so they are not just one dimensional, but have so much more to them as well. Even the operating system, Samantha has so much to her even though all we can do is hear her. The film is classified as a comedy, but during the duration of the film, I think I felt more sadness overall than comedy, because certain aspects of this story are certainly heartbreaking. We do have some funny moments, but overall I would classify it as a drama. Spike Jonze delivers one of the most original, thought provoking and insightful films and screenplays about romance and human connection that I have seen in quite awhile and his Golden Globe win for Best Screenplay was well deserved. Joaquin Phoenix, who is an actor that continually impresses me more and more all the time delivers a fantastic performance as a sad and in some cases a desperate man that we learn to care and have our own feelings for. It was one of the best male performances of last year. Equally as good is Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Samantha. No, we never do see Samantha as anything physically other than a small computer, but Johansson conveys so much feeling and depth in just her voice alone for this performance, that I think it is one of her all time best performances. This film will give you a lot to think about and reflect upon and that is another reason why I loved it so much. For a film that challenged my way of thinking and for being so honest about it's subject and subject matter and moving me inside and because of the great writing and acting that accompanies it, Her is one of the best films of 2013 and one that I hope more people will discover currently in it's wider release at theatres.