A Love Letter to Humanity

Rating: 10/10 (26 February 2014)

Her is one of those few films that come along and just sits perfectly for me. I had been waiting a long time for this film to be released and as I am English, longer than some. I always knew I would like this film as I am a keen science-fiction lover and have enjoyed Spike Jonze film-making in the past. Yet there was something about this film that embellished and enthralled me. It is simply beautiful. Her is unlike any other love story you are likely to come across in cinema, a man who falls in love with (at its core) his computer, an AI that gave itself the name Samantha voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Yet it is so much more than that as the title suggests, she or 'her' is not an it, she becomes human and is part of Joaquin Phoenix's character Theodore. She was created around his personality and as the film repeatedly reminds the audience, people grow and change together, becoming closer and drifting apart just like in a real relationship. They are helped with a variety of lovable and distant characters for narrative gains. My favourite of which is played by Chris Pratt, a character that shows that the fall of masculinity in men is actually something that should be embraced, not shunned. While at first glance of the plot summery, this might seem like an outlandish and borderline disturbing premise for a story, the film in many ways acknowledges this yet takes the viewer with these characters to the point where you actually believe they are real and their situations are these you and I have either experienced or will experience. The believability of the characters is in no small part aided by the brilliant script that is rich, deep and personal. And while watching the film, it answers all the questions exactly when you want them and leaves elements of the story open to interpretation in all the right places. The cinematography is also so lush and engaging by Hoyte van Hoytema, clearly the future will be bright through the eyes of people like him, which is also another key feature of the film I love, the science-fiction. It is not an unrealistic future where machines are conspiring to kill humans and aliens are invading. The few hints of the wider world in Her was very contemporary with technology clearly inspired by the latest tech we have now. Her is told with interesting, believable characters, presented in a way that rivals the visual splendour of Drive. There is little I did not enjoy with Her and in much the same way Theodore fell in love with Samantha, I have fallen in love with Her. I know this will be a film I think about for many years to come and I have only scratched the surface of the greater meanings of the film. This is truly a film that is not made often, a master class in film-making.