In one word, the movie “Her” is odd, but it is also excellent. It is what viewers have come to expect from director Spike Jonze (“Being John Malkovich”) such as lonely, quirky characters and an oddly futuristic setting. In short, the movie is about a man named Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix, “Walk the Line”) who lives in futuristic Los Angeles. He is going through a divorce with his wife (Rooney Mara, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) and is struggling with his loneliness, his only real friend being Amy (Amy Adams, “The Fighter”). He begins a relationship with his Operating System (OS), an artificially intelligent computer voiced by Scarlett Johansson (“The Avengers.”) The film also chronicles his relationships with Amy and his ex-wife, as well as what it is like for him to date a computer.
Nearly every part of the film is excellent, from the script to the cinematography to the acting. Out of all the performances in the film, however, Phoenix’s brilliant portrayal of a lonely Twombly seems to stand out from among the rest. He is able to make Twombly lonely, yet oddly interesting and personable, as well as funny. The cinematography is also fantastic. Achieving this in a film where the main character is dating a computer may seem difficult, as one of the main characters is something viewers cannot see, however it never comes across this way. In many parts, the film is able to show us the world through the eyes of Samantha, the OS that Twombly is dating.
The cinematography is able to put the viewer into a future that is believable. Many movies set in the future have cinematography and settings that sometimes take away from the plot and even distract the audience. Filmmakers often seem to regard “the future” as a character of its own and spend too much time delving into future technology and special effects rather than developing a solid plot. The future in the film “Her” includes interesting futuristic elements without distracting from the plot.
One of the greatest parts of “Her” is the way Jonze is able to weave drama with comedy. When viewers see this movie, they might expect to see a drama. It’s true that “Her” is a drama, but it is also a comedy. This film contains some of the funniest moments that have come from the cinema so far this year. It is an odd, awkward movie, and viewers will be laughing at how wonderfully uncomfortable some of the film’s moments are.
All of the characters in “Her” feel real, and although this movie is set in the future, everything feels very real and relevant. In fact, the film seems to make a statement. There is a wonderfully eerie moment when Twombly loses contact with Samantha while he is walking through a subway station, and the audience hears nothing but silence. Everyone in the scene, and in the film in general, is so engrossed with technology that they are not experiencing what is actually happening around them. In some respects, the film seems to be warning us of the danger of technology, and it does so better than any other movie set in the future with robots and lasers.
“Her” is an excellent movie and is highly recommended. It has everything one would look for in a movie, and viewers will most definitely be glad they saw it.
