Review: Her

Warner Bros.

Her takes place in L.A. in a somewhat distant future where not only does everyone dress like hipsters (for some reason, or maybe that's accurate to reality?) but they all wear these little ear pieces seen above. It's a sort of blue-tooth that connects them to an operating system that is voice-automated which allows everyone to walk around essentially talking to themselves as they check their email, make phone calls, etc. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is just like everyone else in this respect, but he's even more of a lonely and quiet guy when we meet him because he just went through a breakup with his wife, Catherine (Rooney Mara). So it makes sense that he would opt to purchase a new operating system that has intuition and basically functions like a human being except with the capacity to consume information rapidly like a computer. Theodore's "personalized" OS system names herself Samantha (Scarlett Johansson). As Theodore uses the OS system more and more, he begins to fall in love with Samantha and she with him.

These aren't any spoilers because the trailers tell you the same thing. At first glance it seems like a cheesy, pretentious, trite story written to make some point about our consumption and overuse of technology which isn't like director Spike Jonze at all. And since his return to acting, Phoenix seems determined to do only the most unusual and challenging roles. So, everything about the content of Her seems contradictory to the talented team and cast (including Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, and Chris Pratt) involved in the film.

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However, the result is everything to the contrary. Her is the most poignant, touching, heartfelt movie I have seen this year, and Jonze does a marvelous job addressing the problem of loneliness at the heart of the film's message regarding technology and relationships. Where other filmmakers may have expounded too heavily on the technology theme, Jonze cleverly weaves it into the matter of the story. It's like if you just go walk around an urban area, you're not likely to notice everyone on their cell phones or wearing headphones unless you make a point of counting everyone you see doing so. In the same way, if you're looking, you notice all the people in the background of shots wearing the ear-bud and talking, sometimes animatedly, to themselves. Theodore walks through crowded streets and buildings, laughing, smiling, and talking to Samantha, and everyone around him is doing the same. So everyone is alone yet not alone.

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There's a bit my favorite comedian Louis CK did on the Conan show a little while back (which you can see in all its hilarious glory here) where he addresses cell phones in particular. Smart phones are a very particular electronic device, but Louis uses it to address our need to distract ourselves from what he says is the forever emptiness or the idea that you are essentially "alone" in this world. So when your mind starts to wander and get closer to this realization of being alone, we reach for our phones or whatever other thing (or person) that can distract us from such thoughts. "That's why we text and drive," he says, "and everyone's murdering each other with their cars. People are willing to risk taking a life and ruining their own because they don't want to be alone for a second." Of course, Louis says it in a very sarcastic way and uses an amusing example, but I think the heart of what he's saying is true. Something like a smart phone changes how we interact with and see the world (oh look, a funny sign, I'll instagram it!) and inevitably how we interact with each other. It creates the illusion of control, inclusion, knowledge, and many other things.

Now I don't think that such technology is bad. For every negative effect someone points out about such things as cell phones, I'm sure you can find a whole host of positive ones. I don't believe Jonze is attacking such technology either. I think he's simply taking an already well-established trend in our society and expanding it just a tiny bit in order to say something about our innate need as humans to connect and be understood by someone else. In his grief, Theodore finds solace and happiness with Samantha, but he inevitably runs into the roadblock of her absent body. That's all I'll say about the plot to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say, Jonze effectively demonstrates our need to not just be emotionally and intellectually understood but to also feel the simple touch of another's hand on our face.

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As a result, Her takes part in and comments on a theme many film critics and the like have noticed in a number of films this year, and that is the theme of being alone. Gravity tells how Ryan (Sandra Bullock), adrift in space, so many miles away from civilization and anyone else, must find the will to live. Similarly, a nameless man played by Robert Redford in All is Lost must face the elements of the sea alone in a damaged sail boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean. In Captain Phillips, Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) finds himself a captive of pirates and separated from family, safety, and homeland while his captor, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), finds himself at the mercy of the powerful U.S. Navy and the demands of his poverty and countrymen. One could even say that 12 Years a Slave finds Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) abandoned by several slave masters and finding no comfort or protection from fellow slaves as he struggles to survive and make it back to his family.

All of these films examine different cases of individuals finding themselves at the mercy of different forces whether that be the peril of a stormy sea, pirates, space, or ruthless slave-owners. Each case holds different themes to be found, points to be made, and character studies. As good as each of these films are, I believe Her pinpoints the most universal theme to be found in loneliness and abandonment. One of the best scenes in the film is a long take, closeup of Theodore's face as he sits on the stairs down to the subway talking to Samantha and crying. Countless people walk up and down the stairs past him but none stop to ask if he's alright. It's a heartbreaking scene, and it highlights how one can be so alone in the midst of one's own grief and issues. On the whole, Her is quite sad, but the film does not end on a note of "emptiness" and "forever alone" that Louis CK describes. Instead, it acknowledges that there are many times in life like what Theodore experiences, but ultimately these things make us better. Her shows how it's a privilege to spend even just a small portion of your life with another person.

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In the end, Her is a brilliantly written and directed script. It's absurd that Phoenix did not get nominated for the best actor Oscar because it is his ability to deliver lines and express all these emotions without an actress opposite him (just Johansson's voice) that makes every scene so wonderful. Amy Adams is great as always and very touching in her own right. Plus, the film itself is amazing to watch. The cinematography, colors, and lighting are gorgeous, and the soundtrack (including songs by Arcade Fire) perfectly accents the tone. I don't think Her will win many awards at the Oscars unfortunately, but I think there's a good chance Jonze could win best original screenplay, and he deserves it.