Her
- 126 minutes. Rated R.
“Falling in love is a crazy thing to do. It’s like a socially acceptable form of insanity.”
Remember a time when it felt socially unacceptable to tell people that you were trying online dating? Imagine a world not too far from this one where the first fully self aware artificial intelligence (dubbed O.S.for operating system) allows you to actually date your computer. This is where we find Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a wounded introverted soul who is hired to write emotionally poetic letters between people he has never met (yes, he has the Gosling effect). Theodore is going through a recent divorce to his childhood sweetheart and purchases his O.S. named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) for comfort.
Theodore communicates with her through a small ear piece and video cam. Each O.S. is given a basic personality chosen by answering a brief humorous survey from the developers. They learn to become unique individuals by their interactions. Samantha starts as a friend who Theodore can be open and honest with. She is also an ideal personal assistant. She can read through your emails, remind you of your schedule, develop feelings, learn, oh and have phone sex.
Theodore and Samantha seamlessly begin dating, and over time the audience forgets that she is just a computer. They go through the same ups and downs of a relationship: Jealousy, communication issues, and lack of sex, a darkly humorous addition to the film.
I lavished in the film’s subtlety and irony. The very thought of having “handwritten letters” dictated through the computer and printed in script written by strangers is absurd (but isn’t that close to what Hallmark cards are?). For the first time in a while, I actually enjoyed the background scenery, searching for subtle clues. At first, Theodore is an early adopter of the O.S. and is embarrassed to tell anyone, but throughout the movie the audience notices that more people in the background begin talking to their ear pieces.
Another superb yet small detail was great use of color, especially orange and red hues in every scene. Either Theodore was wearing orange (loved his hipster outfits, by the way; not too many guys can pull off those high waste pants) or people and things shortly out of focus in the background wore orange, or sometimes there was even a sunset. Meanwhile, his ex-wife, Catherine, was always in muted white. I could go back and watch this movie just to revel in the color symbolism.
I loved Her. It was a unique, darkly humorous concept executed well. Yet it is not for everyone, as I overheard a bored 13 year old in the movie theater says, “that guy just needs to get a life” which simultaneously reminds me of my age (pre-home computer and cell phone immersion) and genuine fear for the next generation.
