As is my valentine tradition, I spent the evening with my best friend, having dinner and watching a movie; which on this particular valentines day was Her, a Spike Jonze love story. It seemed oddly appropriate for the day.
The film follows the life of writer Theodore (Phoenix), in the not too distant but never specified future. He is on the cusp of finalising his divorce and decides to purchase a new artificially intelligent operating system, which, as the advert tells him, will cater for all of his needs. He never dreamed that would include his OS, Samantha, falling in love with him (and he her), and the two of them entering into a relationship. But if Theodore's wife could not be all that he needed, and she was a flesh and blood person, how will he fare with a woman he cannot see or touch?
Her was a very interesting and unique take on the love story, and one which I found to be quite thought provoking. As a society we seem to be headed further and further down the path of communicating via smart phones and tablets etc, and I could honestly imagine the future depicted in Her becoming our future. Similarly, the amount of single people I know who would be quite happy to enter into a relationship with someone they never had to physically see, or who wouldn't judge them for their own appearance, would be very appealing. The imagination is a wonderful thing, and a disembodied voice that you could imagine to look like whoever you wanted, would probably be the ideal for some people.
The story ambles along at a leisurely pace, never feeling as though it is hurrying to get to it's point, but I liked that about it. You felt as though Theodore and Samantha actually did fall in love over time, and not just in the space of minutes, which I felt recently with another film I saw. It didn't feel rushed, and when they eventually consummated their love, I found it to be both sweet and alluring. It was a scene to divide opinion though, as my friend hated it and found the whole thing embarrassing.
Considering Joaquin Phoenix announced only a few years ago that he was retiring from acting, I was surprised to see him headline this film, but after seeing the movie I am glad that he decided to do it, and that the studios supported his casting, as he really does a great job of carrying the movie. The supporting cast is sparse, a great supporting cast to be sure, headed by Amy Adams, but sparsely present and only for short scenes, and the majority of scenes are of Theodore interacting with Samantha. Whilst Johansson is fantastic as the voice of Samantha, it must have been difficult for Phoenix to pull off the emotion of some of those scenes with no physical person to act against.
I can see that Her would definitely be a Marmite film, one that you will either love or hate. I personally fell into the love category and I hope you will too. 8 out of 10.
The film follows the life of writer Theodore (Phoenix), in the not too distant but never specified future. He is on the cusp of finalising his divorce and decides to purchase a new artificially intelligent operating system, which, as the advert tells him, will cater for all of his needs. He never dreamed that would include his OS, Samantha, falling in love with him (and he her), and the two of them entering into a relationship. But if Theodore's wife could not be all that he needed, and she was a flesh and blood person, how will he fare with a woman he cannot see or touch?
Her was a very interesting and unique take on the love story, and one which I found to be quite thought provoking. As a society we seem to be headed further and further down the path of communicating via smart phones and tablets etc, and I could honestly imagine the future depicted in Her becoming our future. Similarly, the amount of single people I know who would be quite happy to enter into a relationship with someone they never had to physically see, or who wouldn't judge them for their own appearance, would be very appealing. The imagination is a wonderful thing, and a disembodied voice that you could imagine to look like whoever you wanted, would probably be the ideal for some people.
The story ambles along at a leisurely pace, never feeling as though it is hurrying to get to it's point, but I liked that about it. You felt as though Theodore and Samantha actually did fall in love over time, and not just in the space of minutes, which I felt recently with another film I saw. It didn't feel rushed, and when they eventually consummated their love, I found it to be both sweet and alluring. It was a scene to divide opinion though, as my friend hated it and found the whole thing embarrassing.
Considering Joaquin Phoenix announced only a few years ago that he was retiring from acting, I was surprised to see him headline this film, but after seeing the movie I am glad that he decided to do it, and that the studios supported his casting, as he really does a great job of carrying the movie. The supporting cast is sparse, a great supporting cast to be sure, headed by Amy Adams, but sparsely present and only for short scenes, and the majority of scenes are of Theodore interacting with Samantha. Whilst Johansson is fantastic as the voice of Samantha, it must have been difficult for Phoenix to pull off the emotion of some of those scenes with no physical person to act against.
I can see that Her would definitely be a Marmite film, one that you will either love or hate. I personally fell into the love category and I hope you will too. 8 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 14th February 2014
UK Release Date - 14th February 2014
Cast Overview:
Theodore ~ Joaquin Phoenix
Amy ~ Amy Adams
Catherine ~ Rooney Mara
Paul ~ Chris Pratt
Charles ~ Matt Letscher
Blind Date ~ Olivia Wilde
Samantha ~ Scarlett Johansson (voice)
Sexy Kitten ~ Kristen Wiig (voice)
Alan Watts ~ Brian Cox (voice)
Director/Writer ~ Spike Jonze
