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#528 - Her
Spike Jonze, 2013
A recently-separated man starts to bond with an artifically intelligent computer operating system with a female voice.
After having re-watched Adaptation, I then decided to make a little Spike Jonze double-bill by re-watching Her. This resulted in me going from watching an indie film about an extremely neurotic writer facing an existential crisis that was only exacerbated by his inability to relate to women to watching an indie film about an extremely neurotic wri-
Hey, wait a second...
But seriously, Her does have a somewhat interesting premise that intertwines science-fiction with romantic dramedy. In the not-too-distant future (Next Sunday A.D.), there's a guy named Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) who is not too different from you or me. He's got his own set of problems - he's recently separated from his wife (Rooney Mara), he's working a fundamentally creative yet uninspiring job where he is commissioned to write love letters between couples he's never met, and he constantly struggles to relieve his own loneliness (as evidenced by a blackly comical early scene where he has anonymous phone sex). Soon enough, he buys a brand-new computer operating system that features actual artificial intelligence. The A.I. (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) chooses the name Samantha, which eventually prompts Theodore to start thinking of the constantly-expanding relationship with Samantha as a romantic one, as does she.
There's plenty to make one warm to Her. There's the aesthetically pleasing pastel-soaked visuals that are captured through some charmingly down-to-earth cinematography. There's the well-realised world-building full of sufficiently believable technological advances that definitely take on a life of their own - who can forget the scene where Theodore plays a hologram videogame and encounters a foul-mouthed cartoon alien? There's also some good actors in the mix - Phoenix is always a stand-out even in this somewhat difficult-to-like role (even if we do empathise with Theodore's desperate yearning to truly connect with someone, this does result in him having a rather toxic worldview that is reflected ever-so-slightly in his encounters with women) and Johansson's performance definitely shows enough range and energy to compensate for a literal lack of screen presence. That's without mentioning Amy Adams as Phoenix's best friend, who is always a pleasure to watch even in a relatively small role like the one she plays here (this also applies to Mara as she only gets a handful of scenes but makes the most of them as a person who manages to challenge Theodore - both for better and worse). I also like the background score, which is co-written by Arcade Fire's Win Butler and may contribute to the film being derided as hipster-baiting garbage but I don't mind it.
That being said, there's plenty about Her that is also difficult to work around. Even though it inhabits a rather intriguing setting and sets up some interesting concepts as part of its technologically conscious premise, such concepts are only really applied when it's convenient to the generally straightforward plot. As a result, the film does find itself reiterating a lot of tropes that are associated with the somewhat unfortunate "manic pixie dream girl" archetype. Now, I grant that this doesn't automatically ruin a film. I still consider Harold and Maude a minor favourite despite the fact that its main twist involves the MPDG being a septuagenarian. Her does offer a somewhat inventive variation on the theme due to Samantha's status as an advanced computer rather than a flesh-and-blood being, but that only makes the instances in which it sticks to playbook developments feel even more underwhelming (especially on a second viewing, which makes the film feel like even more of a chore). While I did enjoy Her quite a bit the first time around, nowadays I think the main appeal comes from the weird world-building more so than the plot and characterisation (especially considering how flimsy the latter factors end up being). It's not enough to totally scupper the film, but it definitely means that I don't think of it as a modern classic just because it manages to supplant its bare-bones romantic narrative with sci-fi influences and off-beat comedy.
Spike Jonze, 2013
A recently-separated man starts to bond with an artifically intelligent computer operating system with a female voice.
After having re-watched Adaptation, I then decided to make a little Spike Jonze double-bill by re-watching Her. This resulted in me going from watching an indie film about an extremely neurotic writer facing an existential crisis that was only exacerbated by his inability to relate to women to watching an indie film about an extremely neurotic wri-
Hey, wait a second...
But seriously, Her does have a somewhat interesting premise that intertwines science-fiction with romantic dramedy. In the not-too-distant future (Next Sunday A.D.), there's a guy named Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) who is not too different from you or me. He's got his own set of problems - he's recently separated from his wife (Rooney Mara), he's working a fundamentally creative yet uninspiring job where he is commissioned to write love letters between couples he's never met, and he constantly struggles to relieve his own loneliness (as evidenced by a blackly comical early scene where he has anonymous phone sex). Soon enough, he buys a brand-new computer operating system that features actual artificial intelligence. The A.I. (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) chooses the name Samantha, which eventually prompts Theodore to start thinking of the constantly-expanding relationship with Samantha as a romantic one, as does she.
There's plenty to make one warm to Her. There's the aesthetically pleasing pastel-soaked visuals that are captured through some charmingly down-to-earth cinematography. There's the well-realised world-building full of sufficiently believable technological advances that definitely take on a life of their own - who can forget the scene where Theodore plays a hologram videogame and encounters a foul-mouthed cartoon alien? There's also some good actors in the mix - Phoenix is always a stand-out even in this somewhat difficult-to-like role (even if we do empathise with Theodore's desperate yearning to truly connect with someone, this does result in him having a rather toxic worldview that is reflected ever-so-slightly in his encounters with women) and Johansson's performance definitely shows enough range and energy to compensate for a literal lack of screen presence. That's without mentioning Amy Adams as Phoenix's best friend, who is always a pleasure to watch even in a relatively small role like the one she plays here (this also applies to Mara as she only gets a handful of scenes but makes the most of them as a person who manages to challenge Theodore - both for better and worse). I also like the background score, which is co-written by Arcade Fire's Win Butler and may contribute to the film being derided as hipster-baiting garbage but I don't mind it.
That being said, there's plenty about Her that is also difficult to work around. Even though it inhabits a rather intriguing setting and sets up some interesting concepts as part of its technologically conscious premise, such concepts are only really applied when it's convenient to the generally straightforward plot. As a result, the film does find itself reiterating a lot of tropes that are associated with the somewhat unfortunate "manic pixie dream girl" archetype. Now, I grant that this doesn't automatically ruin a film. I still consider Harold and Maude a minor favourite despite the fact that its main twist involves the MPDG being a septuagenarian. Her does offer a somewhat inventive variation on the theme due to Samantha's status as an advanced computer rather than a flesh-and-blood being, but that only makes the instances in which it sticks to playbook developments feel even more underwhelming (especially on a second viewing, which makes the film feel like even more of a chore). While I did enjoy Her quite a bit the first time around, nowadays I think the main appeal comes from the weird world-building more so than the plot and characterisation (especially considering how flimsy the latter factors end up being). It's not enough to totally scupper the film, but it definitely means that I don't think of it as a modern classic just because it manages to supplant its bare-bones romantic narrative with sci-fi influences and off-beat comedy.