Posted By Steve Harcourt on February 4, 2014

In an increasingly connected world, the complex and difficult idea of relationships, love and identity come under new and varied stresses and contexts. In his new film, Her, director Spike Jonze brings us a melancholic view of modern love in a (slightly) futuristic setting.

Lonely and in the middle of a divorce from ‘Catherine’ (Rooney Mara), ‘Theodore Twombley’ (Joaquin Phoenix) is a man searching for meaning in his life.  By day he is a writer, penning handwritten letters for other people, as they try to communicate their inner most feelings.  ‘Theodore’ is far more accomplished at explaining others feelings, but struggles with his own interpersonal relationships. When not working, he has essentially been hiding out, playing video games and avoiding personal interaction.  Intrigued by a new operating system, OS1, the world’s first artificially intelligent OS, he purchases it and finds himself becoming bonded with its A.I., ‘Samantha’ (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).  As time goes by, ‘Theodore’ finds himself falling in love with ‘Samantha’ and his world changes as they explore the meaning of love, connection and existence itself.

The film is full of contrasting emotions, taking us through a whole gamut of feelings as experienced by ‘Theodore’, from his desperation, severe melancholy, through to joy, connection and love.  Her tries to look at how we, as a society, attempt to connect to each other in what is essentially a fragmented, narcissistic world. A world that is, in theory, more connected than ever before.  There is a lot to admire in the film and Jonze does an excellent job of creating a believable world. It is one that many will recognise. The fact that he also does this using the context of a virtual relationship is an intriguing and inspired choice, as it both highlights the emotions over physical considerations, as well as pointing at how the modern world deals increasingly in a virtual manner.

Jonze has set this in an almost sci-fi environment. with much of the technology being logical developments of our current experience which helps make it believable and you can easily see this situation occurring in the future, at least on the gadget side. The A.I. side may take a little while longer!  So, while this is a science fiction story in principle, this element is neither the main focus or indeed that far fetched.

Joaquin Phoenix does a fine job of portraying the downbeat ‘Theodore’. He puts across the monotony and melancholy of his life well, as he struggles to piece together a new identity after the separation from his wife.  With a quietly reserved approach, he is able to bring the right sense of loneliness and being lost within what is a very insular role, which only further draws you into his world.  He is aided by fine performances by Rooney Mara as his diffident soon to be ex, and by the always excellent Amy Adams as his rather mousy friend ‘Amy’.

The main focus here though is the relationship between ‘Theodore’ and ‘Samantha’. Although Phoenix and Johansson never actually act in the same place, there is a remarkable sense of growing intimacy between the two characters. What is even more surprising is that the voice of ‘Samantha’ was originally performed on set by Samantha Morton, but after filming, Jonze recast the role with Johansson.  As Morton is a fantastic actress, my guess would be that it was for purely artistic reasons and not one related to a poor performance.  Ultimately, this late recasting makes Johansson’s performance seem even better as she had no direct contact on set with Phoenix from which to bounce off.  The role of ‘Samantha’ is one that could have been done very badly as she progresses from a relatively mechanical entity to one with a sense of self, with a range of emotions and desires, so it is a critical element that could have torpedoed the whole affair. Thankfully, it is handled beautifully and Johansson deserves all the plaudits.

There are a couple of elements I would have liked to have seen explored, namely what the company behind the A.I. thought about the growing number of human/A.I. relationships, whether there was any other social or political consequences of these occurrences and how it could go wrong. ‘Samantha’ at several stages acts independently of ‘Theodore’ and although these are ultimately to his benefit, there seems to be no defined boundaries or negative consequences from her actions.  I would have expected some acknowledgment that the company would potentially exploit the relationship, much like social media platforms now.  Jonze clearly has a different focus and such concerns have been made to take a back seat in favour of the main point, which is understandable.

This is a remarkable film, and one that is thought provoking, depressing, uplifting, moving, as well as understanding, and it is one that you can find common ground with.  While there is a generally melancholic air about the whole thing, this does ring true for the character, and I’m sure for many people.  The search for meaning and connection is universal and there is much here for everyone. Definitely recommended.

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Categories: Movies, Reviews
Tags: A.I., Amy Adams, artificial intelligence, dating, desperation, divorce, future, indie, Internet, Joaquin Phoenix, loneliness, Love, narcissism, Olivia Wilde, Operating System, OS1, relationships, Rooney Mara, Samantha Morton, Scarlett Johansson, scifi, Spike Jonze