Her is a 2013 Sci-fi/Rom-Com written and directed by Spike Jonze and stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly who is somewhat lonely since his separation from his love Catherine Played by Joaquin’s real life partner Rooney Mara and suddenly falls in love with Samantha, an artificial intelligence assistant that is capable of adapting and learning just like a human mind can voiced beautifully by Scarlett Johansson.
Now the premise of the movie sounds a little strange. It’s like if I decided to ask Siri to dirty talk me it wouldn’t be entertaining. It would be pretty disturbing to be honest so i had no idea what to expect. However Spike Jonze has crafted a beautiful and amazing film that takes an odd premise and somehow makes it one of my favorite films ever.
The film is so beautifully shot even though the movie is set in a modern-esq world the way Jonze chooses to shoot certain shots it feels like it’s set in a dystopian future. With beautiful architecture and bold colorful set pieces, ‘HER’ puts in a lot more effort in terms of cinematography than most romance movies and regular movies alike.
Of course it goes without saying the best part of the movie is Joaquin Phoenix, every movie he is in he tops his last performance and effortlessly blends in to the screen as the character he is portraying and here is no different. No one on this earth could portray so believably that of a man who has fallen in love with a voice assistant than Joaquin Phoenix. He perfectly delivers line after line and steals every scene he is in, Theodore is funny, awkward, jealous,lonely and every emotion and feeling in between and not a scene goes by where Phoenix doesn’t wow me. Theodore also works at a company that writes letters for people who struggle to write themselve Phoenix then recites these letters as monologues and it is a great and clever way to show Phoenix’s range and skills as one of the most expressive and talented actors of this generation.
All the co stars in the movie a also superb Amy Adams is great as Theodore’s friend Amy and Scarlett Johansson even though she does not appear also has a great performance in the movie, being able to deliver one of the best performances of the movie next to such talent as Phoenix and Adams without being present on set and only using your voice shows that Scarlett Johansson back in 2013 was destined to be known as a great, to deliver emotion and bring character to someone who isn’t even a real person in the movie and still stand up against everyone else is something that needs to be admired and remembered.
The movie also resonated with me a little bit as I assume it will with most people who have watched or will watch this movie. It tackles subjects such as depression, Loneliness, guilt, the fear of being different and most importantly love. At some point in our lives we will all feel all of these feelings more than once and deep down the movie is a message that you are who you are and at the end of the day everything happens for a reason and sooner or later everything will be okay.
Her doesn’t seem to have the right stuff to be a good movie just based on premise, but yet All the talent in front and behind the cast prove that no matter the idea it’s possible to not only make a good movie but to make a movie that is profound in every way from design to performance and one of the most heartwarming, heart breaking, sometimes hilarious content that is a much watch for all movie buffs out there.
Final Score.
Title: Incredible
‘Her’ may not seem like a great idea on paper but Spike Jonze’s unique take on the sci-fi and romance genre proves to be one the greats rather than the stupid idea its premise might seem to make you think it is. coupled with a stellar performance from Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson ‘Her’ is without a doubt an incredible piece of cinema and a beautiful work of art.
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