Her is an absolutely brilliant film, with potential layers of discussion to be had about love and artificiality. It's heavily introspective with a few shades of satire, and it deserves to be watched. Before I get into what makes it great, I better set the stage for what it is.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly, a man who writes personal love letters for people in futuristic Los Angeles. He's incredibly lonely and going through a messy divorce, and in a spur of the moment decides to purchase a new Operating System that is claimed to be "an intuitive entity that listens to you, understands you, and knows you", who ends up being voiced by Scarlett Johansson and naming herself Samantha.
For the benefit of those that haven't seen it, I won't say more about the plot than that. Instead, I'd like to focus on some of the excellent aspects of the film.
The brilliance of the acting rests mostly on Phoenix, who a gives a beautifully believable performance as Theodore. Nothing is overbearing here; everything he does feels natural, a slight awkwardness that never feels forced mixed with some exquisite chemistry with the other characters on screen. This goes for Johansson as well, who manages to give a moving turn here, despite the limitation of only being a voice, and only being able to speak to Phoenix. Samantha's moments of existential crisis are made real by a vulnerability Johansson seems to express, and the relationship she has with Phoenix's Theodore develops so naturally it never seems crazy despite the fact that Samantha is entirely artificial. There's also some respectable performances from the likes of Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pratt and Rooney Mara, but for the most part, our eyes are on Phoenix and our ears are on Johansson.
All of the comes together because of the truly fantastic writing and directing of Spike Jonze. You'd think a film where one of the main characters is only expressed through a voice would be only about the dialogue, but Jonze's excellent directing makes none of the dialogue in any scene feel like the only part of the scene. Imagery is used to accentuate conversation; a scene at the beach involving discussion of the human body is interspersed with shots of different body parts of the people at the beach, a knee, an ear, up close and in detail. Colour is used beautifully here: a scene where Theodore falls in love is coated in red, happy memories and sad memories are contrasted with lighter and darker tones, respectively. The dialogue feels organic or satirical as and when is required; conversations have natural pauses and stumbles, there's no rushing, and it bites with self-deprecation now and then. I had a few chuckles when Theodore asks his phone to "play melancholy song" so that he can feel sorry for himself, and then quickly asks to "play different melancholy song". The film doesn't mind showing that part of the reason Theodore is lonely is because he wants to be, the directing and writing are both so strong here.
The Verdict:
Her is an amazingly well done film in every respect, and I highly recommend watching it if you haven't already. Its heavy subject matter deems it inappropriate for younger audiences, but even the most technophobic adult can find enjoyment in the film's more self-disparaging moments. Watch this film, and find out why it's worth talking about.
Rating: 9/10
Watched January 2nd, 2016, Published July 2nd, 2016
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