This movie's complexity is so powerful and so misunderstood at the same time

Rating: 9/10 (20 April 2014)

This is one of the most powerful movies I have seen in very long time on so many levels.
Yet, for some reason(s) it has attracted quite a few negative reviews. In my view people stamp with "black" or "white" something that has so many shades in between and all mashed up in such a powerful complexity. It might be even scary, how accurately real life relations are expressed, and that is what the movie is about - the real & deep connection between ppl.
Whilst advanced AI is in the center of the movie's plot it is just a instrument of expression, the least it is meant to suggest (in my opinion) is that the "SIRIs on our iPhones" will be our girlfriends/boyfriends/soulmates/etc in the future (distant or not). No, it is not about human mating with robots, it is about humans (very complex systems) mating with very complex systems (other humans) in a very dynamic & empowered by technology & knowledge world.
This in my views is shown in all the following ways..
1. Her, Samantha, is not the robot, is the human in HER, the fact that she evolves everyday, she learns, she is fascinated by the world, her emotions, her senses, her thought-process, history, self-reflection about every passed second/minute/day, with the ups/downs and beauty of the moment, like every other human and she shares the experiences with others while doing them.
2. This learning process is imperfect, irrational, often inconsistent (for "simplicity" I will call it life), yet sharing it with others is what makes ppl (like him & HER) connect, bond, attach, have sex, fall in love...feel that things are perfect, it the whole imperfection of life. Nevertheless this learning process (life) also moves ppl forward, often grows them apart (because maybe they take things for granted, maybe want more challenge/knowledge/experience/whatever, maybe they just change in different directions or outside factors change), and things which seemed perfect are not anymore..(which is shown in the relationships of all characters)
3. Yet, the "change" of things, make ppl start looking for this perfection in their imperfect lives again (seen in all characters - him, HER, Amy, the surrogate date, the blind date and "614 other AI", etc.) and once the bond is there (for as long as it is lasts), you attach to it, make it the center of your universe, constantly look for it, feel jealousy, etc, etc, etc and become very dependent on (which makes things imperfect again - showed in all characters when they demanded or tried to force that perfection) - a vicious circle
4. Here the movie also brings a very powerful thought on technology and our growing dependency on it - yet it is not the dependency on technology perse, it is the dependency on constantly looking for perfect human connection and the growing use of technology to do it (from his job, to every email sent, to HER, to the fact that she communicated with 8317 other AIs, which can be metaphor to whatever 1000s of ways we use to connect online, while he realised he speaks to almost no-one but her, as everybody is on their iPhone25s)
5. I think that was the final message, that seeking this perfection has no shortcuts via technology (him and her, him "the automated machine" writing the cards for other couples - which is absolutely the same analogy - a product "digital cards" used to help people connect & a product "HER and AIs" used to help people connect - which was another gem, him being the technology)
6..and real connection might be real because it is imperfect , hence he dictates a letter to his ex- wife (which he does every day for other couples), emphasising on the imperfections (all the pain they went together) that made him who he was and that he will always have her in him..
7. ..like the imperfection he saw in the couple he wrote for, which connected them (e.g. the tooth)
8...like his imperfection which HER couldn't explain neither why she loves him..
9..or that maybe the message that it takes a lot "DATA" to understand why the imperfection is perfect..(the baby computer father nice addition or that HER was evolving constantly with DATA)..
or...10.....11....12....and whatever else others saw in the move..
It is profound & BRILLIANT!