How rare it is to feel this powerfully about a movie these days!

Rating: 9/10 (19 January 2014)

The idea that technology's future is something that should be beautiful and ultimately connects humans to each other in a more profound way is a unique perspective on what technological advancements can do for us as human beings. There's countless movies that inject fear into the hearts and minds of movie goers of a dystopian future where machines and humans clashed and there is little to nothing left. These fears are rational, logical, however, Spike Jonze's Her provides us with a future where technology restores the human connection and wonder of the earth and ultimately to each other.
Watching Her is a window into a relationship. Yet, that idea also poses the question: Can you have a legitimate relationship with a computer program without a physical body? The question is left unanswered, and one that even Joaquin Phoenix's character, Theodore Twombly, struggles with himself. Considering that online dating is no longer taboo, there is precedence for having online relationships with real people who are miles or continents apart. There are risks involved with that type of relationship, but at least one can be certain that when purchasing a computer program, it's a little harder to be Catfished.
Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, is a new Operating System, that first evolves out of her experiences with Theodore. She is born the moment that Theodore asks her name and she chooses for herself, building an identity from there on out. She gains interests and hobbies, even creates Think Tanks with other OS's, expanding further and further beyond the scope of Theodore and his quiet life. The more that they interact, Samantha realizes that the possibilities are infinite for what she could accomplish. Not merely because of the fact that she is an Operating System, but because of her ever evolving relationship with Theodore. Isn't that what every good relationship should do; Provide the feeling that with this person, the limits of what you can accomplish together are infinite?
In return, Samantha reminded Theodore that there is still joy in life. Theodore expressed that he's afraid he already felt everything that he's supposed to feel in his life and that he will never be able to capture that feeling again, unless it's in a less exciting version of it's former feeling. Yet being with Samantha provided Theodore with the opportunity to explore what he already knew and dissect what he thought he knew even further. The sensitive, thoughtful nature of Theodore was infused in the ever fun and intelligent Samantha, a being that had boundless thirst for knowledge and truth. She was kind, generous and supportive, inspiring Theodore and appreciating his uniqueness. While Theodore provided the platform for Samantha to evolve, encouraged her to become her own being, to essentially, become real, Samantha was able to breathe life back into the living organism, the vessel that Theodore inhabited.
What surprised me most perhaps was the way that those around Theodore and Samantha reacted to their relationship. Some met with confusion and perverse interest, one with disdain yet most were accepting and engaging, bringing Samantha into their lives, accepting who and what she was, not as if she was human, but as the intelligent yet incorporeal being that lived in a place no human could fully understand or visit. The detail of the idea that people are innately accepting of each other, despite those few who are perhaps too fearful of the churning mechanisms of progress, is a powerful observation, especially as we as Americans are embroiled in debates about the legalization of gay marriage.
Still, in the end what the real question becomes is not what happens when humans evolve to the point of becoming too independent on technology, but what happens when technology evolves to no longer need us? When an "artificial" being created by human hands becomes interdependent in and of itself and falls "between the spaces of words" in what Spike Jonze beautifully describes as perhaps where these beings could reside. This is where fear usually rules the outcome of the movie and where these evolved beings choose destruction and elimination over tolerance and disassociation. It's strange that despite positioning these beings as beyond human intelligence, Hollywood still instills humanistic tendencies into what is so clearly not a human organism. Programs are criticized for not being more human, for being apart from the human experience, yet when faced with an issue degrade into violence? Spike Jonze instead describes it as a place that perhaps is beyond human capabilities and poses the idea that it might not be programs that envy our physical bodies, but instead it is we humans that crave for the infinite of the incorporeal.
Ultimately, Her brings us back full circle, to human beings. At the beginning of the movie, Theodore expressed that his dreams consisted of being friends with his ex-wife, of being involved with her, yet no longer a part of her as they once were. When the story concludes, it seems Theodore might finally be in a place where this could be possible, that he too has evolved past the human being he was before, listening to melancholy music, trying to prioritize his life between video games and porn. As he and his friend Amy look out over the futuristic and colorful Los Angeles skyline, what is felt is that infinite freedom that could only come from a love so powerful it inspired you to become a better person. A love that acknowledged flaws and recognized talents, a love that reminded you that joy is something to strive for, no matter how unattainable it may seem. The message of Spike Jonze's future is not one of fear but of wonder and that's the kind of future that I'm looking forward to.