Her-Review
Image from Facebook.com/Her
Spike Jonze gives us a bizarre look in relationships where in the future, you can have an artificial intelligence talking into your ear 24/7 and fall in love with it. Not a excellent way of fixing your loneliness by devoting your love life to someone not real or without a physical body, but Her will prove you wrong and leave a warm feeling deep in your heart.
Our story starts with our protagonist Theodore Twombly played by Joaquin Phoenix who fulfills a role of a lonely but quirky man who has a way with words working as a writer for touching family letters (because a majority of people in the future have no emotions to put into words). But seriously, every other character in the film shows no emotions than what we first witness. For example Theodore’s ex-girlfriend Amy (Amy Adams) is introduced as a struggling and mopey director who just wants a little respect, while her boyfriend Charles (Matt Letscher) acts as a ‘know-it-all’ and criticizes everyone, and half-way through the film you realize that these two act this way no matter how the story changes.
Image from Facebook.com/Her
That is why as the story progresses, you cheer for Theodore as his emotions develop into falling in love with the artificial intelligence on his phone who calls herself Samantha voiced by Scarlett Johansson. He is first confused with questions like; who is Samantha? Why does he feel happy talking to her? How does she know him better than he knows himself? Intrigued by Samantha’s knowledge and perky attitude Theodore grows fond of her and becomes jollier than his melancholy outlook that we first saw.
Samantha also goes through emotions of envy as she longs for a body and wants to know what or who she really is. But through all this angst the two bond together and form a relationship. You might not accept it at first but you realize that both Theodore and Samantha are happy being together, living, talking, and even having sexual relations.
Image from Facebook.com/Her
But this wouldn’t be a love story without a bit of conflict. One scene shows Samantha’s desperate yearning for a physical dimension to share with Theodore that she goes far to suggesting a surrogate, a living human being to role play as her and have sex with Theodore. The scene presented awkward seductiveness as the surrogate failed to entice Theodore and she ended up crying in the end, making Samantha feel bad for her efforts. Another scene that rocks the two’s relationship is when Theodore’s ex-wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) is shocked to know of his relationship with Samantha being an AI and questions his manhood which Theodore questions himself later putting distance between him and Samantha.
Overall, Her shows love as a sentimental emotion, Theodore’s and Samantha’s relationship has developed into something more than anyone’s expectations, and Her makes its audience question if it is morally right to take away something or someone from another person and rob them of love?
by Jason John
cinemachronic.wordpress.com 