"It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."
Spike Jonze's latest effort, Her, is a heartfelt tale set in the near-future where operating systems are advanced programmes that seem to develop an ever evolving intelligence and personality, blurring the lines between the real and artificial. Considering humanity's current interpersonal relationship with technology, Jonze's satire could be an accurate prediction of future developments, with people transitioning from staring at their Smartphones to being preoccupied with an omniscient OS perfectly tailored to your character. Her perfectly illustrates the odd and alien behaviour humanity displays when we eschew genuine interaction in favour of self-absorbment.
Furthermore, this film would not have worked without the performances of Joaquin Phoenix (Theodore Twombly), Scarlett Johansson (Samantha) and Amy Adams (Amy), who are organic, relatable and believable. Phoenix and Johansson in particular knock it out of the park, making Theodore's relationship with his OS sincere and realistic when it could have possibly reached comedic territory due to the ludicrousness of the idea. Both actors share a blistering chemistry, despite Johansson only having a (terrific) vocal performance, and are a more authentic couple than let's just say, oh I don't know, Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in both Thor outings? (Yeah on a side note I find them pretty gross.)
Personally, this film resonated with me as it highlighted the beauty of being love and its doubts - whether one's emotions for another were real or fake and the weight and burden of commitment amongst other issues. This was effected by the quality of the performances and the cinematography, with the soft lighting and warm colours creating elegant scenes that looked straight out of a VSCO Cam preset.
Her, is easily one of the best films of 2013/2014, and I am excited for future works by Jonze.
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