Spike Jonze's latest film, Her, had the potential to be many negative things: creepy, cheesy, unrealistic. And yet somehow he directed a film of such sensitivity, such humanity, that I felt my heart swell near to bursting at the end.
Her is a movie where a guy falls in love with an operating system. Let's not mince words here. Basically, it's like someone falling in love with a more intelligent version of Siri. Can you imagine dirty talking with Siri (I bet you can, you perv!), because that is what happens in this movie. So you can see how easily Her could have been the butt of thousands of jokes.
Is it weird that when Joaquin Phoenix, playing the mild mannered Theodore Twombly, has sex (voice sex? aural sex? phone sex?) with Samantha, his new operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson, it's kind of hot? And it's hot not just because, I mean, hey, ScarJo has a sexy voice, but because you believe it. The actors make you believe it. It's a little disturbing how easy it is to believe in this relationship.
Her takes place in some future time that doesn't seem very far off from 2014. People are still addicted to their gadgets, only now everyone sports ear pieces they can use to check and respond to email, shift through news feeds, get their favorite music pumped directly to their earholes, etc. Theodore works at a company that composes other peoples' letters for them, and he is a master letter writer with a talent for words and an understanding of both deep and subtle emotions. Theo is also still recovering from a separation from his wife (Rooney Mara) and is not ready to sign the divorce papers despite angry calls from her lawyer.
When Theo buys a new operating system for his computer and handheld gadget thingy, he's surprised by the OS's intelligence, wit, and ability to adapt and learn. This new OS was programmed to evolve, much like a human does, when fed new information. The OS names herself Samantha, and it's not long before Samantha and Theo's conversations turn from cleaning up his email inbox to romance.If you're feeling a little squicked out by the thought of a guy cuddling up to a disembodied voice, don't worry: Her isn't a straightforward romance as much as it is an exploration of what it means to love someone.
Theo's ex-wife accuses him of needing her to be someone she's not and of being fundamentally selfish in love. Their conversation reminded me of a quotation from another film Spike Jonze directed (although Charlie Kaufman wrote it), Adaptation. In the movie, one character says "You are what you love, not what loves you. That's what I decided a long time ago." That line always stuck with me, and not as an implication that love is a selfish emotion, but that it's an individual emotion. We're all going around in our little bubbles, and it takes a lot of guts to open that bubble up and let someone else in. Sometimes we open up and face rejection. Other times we start a relationship only for it to end in some way or another--break-up, divorce, death. But even if the love wasn't mutual or permanent, it doesn't mean it wasn't important or meaningful.
It's a testament to Joaquin Phoenix's acting abilities that he was able to create a character who was lonely, but not pathetic. I don't think I've ever seen a character in a movie like Theodore before. He's a sensitive, soft-spoken, gentle man who isn't the butt of the joke or the sidekick to an alpha male hero. The film intensely focuses on Theo's emotional life, and while there are definitely humorous parts, the movie takes his feelings very seriously and treats them like they're important and legitimate. And Phoenix really captures what it looks and sounds like when someone is guilty and distracted after seeing an ex, or horny and vulnerable at the same time. I feel like my words can't really do justice to his performance. I was blown out of the water by it.
There's a scene where Theo tells Samantha, "Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel". I don't think there is a human being on earth who can't relate to that. This idea, especially after a loss of some sort, that even if time heals all wounds, the world won't be as colorful or fascinating ever again. It's ironic that love and relationships allow us to dive into a technicolor pool of joy and wonderment--but also have the ability to take that same pool away.
I feel like no matter what I write in this review, I won't really convey the ideas and emotions that come out of the film Her. I just highly recommend seeing it. It's easily one of the best movies of the year, and it might change how you view what it means to connect with someone.
5 out of 5 stars
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