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Okay, this review of Her kind of turned into a write-up, which in turn, turned into a discussion.
As a review, this write-up could use some structure and some tightening, tweaking and whatnot. But this is a Hall of Fame, not my review thread, so I'll just post this, unedited and as it is...
'Her' draws a very vivid and dreamy image of an otherwise dark dystopian future. The setting of the film has been filled with colors and warmly saturated hues, making 'Her' even more disturbing for its showcase of a disconnected society, who are in a very daunting way, directly connected to their communitive little computer-companion. You sense the underlying dark and depressing atmosphere oozing over this otherwise warm and wonderful world, which oddly enough feels close to home in both ends of the time line; making a clear contrast with modern technology inside an otherwise retro setting.
Our main character, Theodore Twombly, played to perfection by one of my favorite actors, Joaquin Phoenix, really grants this character with slight glimpse of pain great enough to have the audience pity him but without putting him off as pathetic. It is all about the slight gestures to make the emotions feel significant and honest and Phoenix hits the bullseye with the arrow of Cupid. Theodore is a lonely and introverted individual, who writes letters for the loved ones of significant others, other than himself. These letters are presented in handwritten form, forged by a computer and falsely credited to the paying costumer of the service. This working position is perfect as a place in the story, in the time and in the telling of Theodore's character arc. The art of writing is long gone and the art of expression, especially emotional, has vanished with it.
People are now incapable of communicating properly with each other and thereby distancing themselves from their human relationships and day-to-day routines. The spark is artificially reanimated by words that are written by an observant – and not a participant – of the relationship, and is amplified by the undying art of putting emotion to paper. Theodore is admired by all his co-workers and seeing such a sweet and kind human being with so much love to give but so few to deliver it to, is simply heartbreaking enough as it is. Combined with the cold cut-off society, where people go about in their own little bobbles is really something that lingers in your mind, especially as I dictate this part right here and now using Siri... but as long as I dictate and not dedicate something to my OS I should be fine, right?
The idea of a connected companionship with a computer seemed rather crazy when I first read about 'Her', but envisioning something is not equal to experiencing it, so once I got past the overall oddness of it and thought about the originality and relevance of it, while playing around with the ideas of it, clinching onto the concept of it, as well as the conflict following the realization of it, and by then I really began to fall in love with 'Her'… and not solely because of Scarlett Johansson, I can (try to) assure you. But now that I brought it up myself, Scarlett Johansson really does have that unfiltered, warm and welcoming tone of voice, which definitely helps making the audience buy into the love of someone who has bought himself into love, if that makes sense. OS1 is an operating system, but somehow Johansson and Jonze makes magic together and creates something believable.
But it really is this showcase of the OS as the perfect companion in life – someone who is always there for you, someone who listens and someone who seems so enthusiastic about everything you share; even life itself. When presented with a fresh look on life, free from prejudice and passive aggressive negativity, you really do become a new person yourself, just like Theodore. But even for the everlasting evolution of technology, nothing lasts forever, but before OS1 disappears completely, there is a scene showcasing Theodore’s panic attack when he can’t connect to OS1 and his virtual wife, Samantha. Although a visual exaggeration of such situation, I think we can all relate to the feeling – especially the younger generation – when we can’t find our phone, for example… complete and utter panic, I can tell you.
‘Her’ is a spellbinding view on the spell of technology that we find ourselves in even now. But Jonze isn’t trying to frighten us about our future, he is trying to enlighten us. He does it in a way that have us connect with what we are seeing and then he slowly pulls the rug out from under us. I mean, even the small little hints send thoughts of resonance down our spine – seeing people find major interest in normal things, like sleeping, because it is so pure and humane as anything can be; It is the most honest state in many ways and obviously there is more to that scene than that. But I just love those smaller things too, like the game about being a perfect mom; games that we play for fun in our free time about things we don’t do that much anymore. Does this ring a bell? Farmville on Facebook, anyone?
As a review, this write-up could use some structure and some tightening, tweaking and whatnot. But this is a Hall of Fame, not my review thread, so I'll just post this, unedited and as it is...
'Her' draws a very vivid and dreamy image of an otherwise dark dystopian future. The setting of the film has been filled with colors and warmly saturated hues, making 'Her' even more disturbing for its showcase of a disconnected society, who are in a very daunting way, directly connected to their communitive little computer-companion. You sense the underlying dark and depressing atmosphere oozing over this otherwise warm and wonderful world, which oddly enough feels close to home in both ends of the time line; making a clear contrast with modern technology inside an otherwise retro setting.
Our main character, Theodore Twombly, played to perfection by one of my favorite actors, Joaquin Phoenix, really grants this character with slight glimpse of pain great enough to have the audience pity him but without putting him off as pathetic. It is all about the slight gestures to make the emotions feel significant and honest and Phoenix hits the bullseye with the arrow of Cupid. Theodore is a lonely and introverted individual, who writes letters for the loved ones of significant others, other than himself. These letters are presented in handwritten form, forged by a computer and falsely credited to the paying costumer of the service. This working position is perfect as a place in the story, in the time and in the telling of Theodore's character arc. The art of writing is long gone and the art of expression, especially emotional, has vanished with it.
People are now incapable of communicating properly with each other and thereby distancing themselves from their human relationships and day-to-day routines. The spark is artificially reanimated by words that are written by an observant – and not a participant – of the relationship, and is amplified by the undying art of putting emotion to paper. Theodore is admired by all his co-workers and seeing such a sweet and kind human being with so much love to give but so few to deliver it to, is simply heartbreaking enough as it is. Combined with the cold cut-off society, where people go about in their own little bobbles is really something that lingers in your mind, especially as I dictate this part right here and now using Siri... but as long as I dictate and not dedicate something to my OS I should be fine, right?
The idea of a connected companionship with a computer seemed rather crazy when I first read about 'Her', but envisioning something is not equal to experiencing it, so once I got past the overall oddness of it and thought about the originality and relevance of it, while playing around with the ideas of it, clinching onto the concept of it, as well as the conflict following the realization of it, and by then I really began to fall in love with 'Her'… and not solely because of Scarlett Johansson, I can (try to) assure you. But now that I brought it up myself, Scarlett Johansson really does have that unfiltered, warm and welcoming tone of voice, which definitely helps making the audience buy into the love of someone who has bought himself into love, if that makes sense. OS1 is an operating system, but somehow Johansson and Jonze makes magic together and creates something believable.
But it really is this showcase of the OS as the perfect companion in life – someone who is always there for you, someone who listens and someone who seems so enthusiastic about everything you share; even life itself. When presented with a fresh look on life, free from prejudice and passive aggressive negativity, you really do become a new person yourself, just like Theodore. But even for the everlasting evolution of technology, nothing lasts forever, but before OS1 disappears completely, there is a scene showcasing Theodore’s panic attack when he can’t connect to OS1 and his virtual wife, Samantha. Although a visual exaggeration of such situation, I think we can all relate to the feeling – especially the younger generation – when we can’t find our phone, for example… complete and utter panic, I can tell you.
‘Her’ is a spellbinding view on the spell of technology that we find ourselves in even now. But Jonze isn’t trying to frighten us about our future, he is trying to enlighten us. He does it in a way that have us connect with what we are seeing and then he slowly pulls the rug out from under us. I mean, even the small little hints send thoughts of resonance down our spine – seeing people find major interest in normal things, like sleeping, because it is so pure and humane as anything can be; It is the most honest state in many ways and obviously there is more to that scene than that. But I just love those smaller things too, like the game about being a perfect mom; games that we play for fun in our free time about things we don’t do that much anymore. Does this ring a bell? Farmville on Facebook, anyone?