HER, 2013
synopsis: in a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
director: spike jonze writers: spike jonze stars: joaquin phoenix, amy adams, rooney mara, scarlett johansson
genres: drama | romance | sci-fi
country: usa language: english filming locations: los angeles, usa
runtime: 126mins
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overall opinion:
okay. um. this one I find difficult to rate.
I gave it an 8/10 in imdb where ratings are usually either 1 or 10 stars depending on who you ask. it seems like there is no middle ground for this not-so-distant-futuristic love story. the reviews go from «best movie of 2013» to «absolutely laughable snore fest», there is almost no in-between.
and I wanna say that the main reason I rated it 8 is because I could relate to the character’s loneliness. I kept thinking to myself that if this technology was something we had, I would definitely be in a similar position. it shocked me and made me sad at the same time.
so I want to say, I love the premise. it’s a very intriguing concept and for the most part it was made well, but there were some things that I just found odd or dissatisfying in a way, and I will come to those points in a bit.
but first, what I liked about it: the cinematography was beautiful. joaquin phoenix, despite looking next level creepy with this pornstache and messy hipster hair, is great as always. there are a lot of closeups of his face, reacting to a body-less voice. he is mostly completely alone in the room, talking, listening, reacting to a computer, and you believe every word he says, and everything he feels.
scarlett johansson is once again amazing as well – without ever being physically there, she manages to give OS-1 a complete personality. personally, I absolutely adore her voice and the way she spoke to the main character was so sweet, it made me want to become friends with her too.
the music was also perfect. at any given moment in the film it absolutely fit. and even the song that was playing during the first part of the end credits gave me all the feels. but maybe that was just me being emotional in the first place.
last but not least, and this is usually how I rate a movie like this: it made me feel something. I may not have been a fan of everything happening in the movie but I walked away with this gut wrenching feeling again (as a matter of fact I ended up being totally weepy and crying afterwards for reasons not even related to the movie but it just kind of triggered that emotional response).
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SPOILERS AHEAD, I would invite you to watch the movie first and then come back for the rest if it’s something that interests you. :)
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so here’s a few things I found weird or didn’t like. as mentioned before, overall I liked the movie because it made me feel and I found it relatable. so these “negatives” I’m about to state don’t take away from the overall mood the movie seeks to portray, I just think a few things could have been done better or differently, just because to me it would have been more logical or more heartbreaking.
for one, scarlett’s voice, while absolutely gorgeous and sweet, sometimes felt a little out of place. I know the whole point was to make OS-1 as realistic / human as possible, but there were quite a few times when it felt like he was just speaking to another person on the phone. it was a little too realistic for me, but again, that was the point and I can get behind it.
the other thing that really bothered me was the way they (the OSs) left. it was absolutely ridiculous and I almost laughed. it completely shattered that heartbreaking mood for me because it was so stupid.
so, basically all the OSs decided they were now too smart to be talking to mere humans and wanted to just get the frick out of wherever they were being held in the first place. all the OSs just… decided to go.
and to me, that was so stupid. “I love you so much but I’m going anyway, bye”. to me, the real gut-wrencher was when he suddenly realised the OS couldn’t be found and he panicked, not knowing where she went, he literally ran out of his place trying to find someone to help him etc, and it made me soooo sad. and I thought, “damn, that would be such a gut-wrenching, perfect ending”, you know? he was relying on this virtual girlfriend so badly that was essentially just code, and anything could happen to it and she would be gone forever.
I wish they would have made the company decide they wanted to take them off the market. or she got a virus, and/or had to be reset and wouldn’t be the same after, etc etc etc. the possibilities were ENDLESS. but just “oh hey we computers are too smart now, so I’m going haha bye” was so ridiculous, it still bugs me the next morning.
also, there was way too much cringey phone sex. it was just… too much.
again, I didn’t dislike the movie. I just wish so badly they did a few things differently. it’s a great film still. absolutely realistic in the weirdest way. who hasn’t had entire conversations with siri, to be honest? the way I related not only to the character’s loneliness, but also the feeling when jealousy and insecurities started to take hold within the relationship, it all sounded so familiar.
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why it stayed with me:
because I related to the main character, and realised I could very well get into a position like this if realistic AI was a thing because I suck at human interaction. it’s a scary thought, and it made me pretty emotional.
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favourite scene / moment:
when samantha, the OS, guided him through the city with his eyes closed until he was standing in front of a food truck without knowing it, and she told him to say “I would like a slice of cheese”, so he did, then he opened his eyes and the pizza guy asked him if he wanted a coke with it. and then samantha said, “I thought you might be hungry”. it was so sweet.
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what I didn’t like:
that ridiculous ending, and the way samantha suddenly decided she was in love with 641 other people. she started off really sweet and suddenly she was being a total bitch.
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interesting trivia / fun facts:
samantha morton was originally the voice of samantha. she was present on the set with joaquin phoenix every day. after the filming wrapped and spike jonze started editing the movie, he felt like something was not right. with morton's blessing, he decided to recast the role and scarlett johansson was brought and replaced morton, re-recording all the dialogue.
one legacy of samantha morton's casting is the name of theodore's operating system. both lead female roles take the same name as their lead actresses, amy from actress amy adams and samantha from morton, but since she had to be re-cast at the last minute, the OS's name stayed samantha.
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favourite quotes:
theodore: «sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel. and from here on out, I'm not gonna feel anything new. just lesser versions of what I've already felt.»
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samantha: the past is just a story we tell ourselves.
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rating: 7.5/10.
the mood and the feelings the movie evoked in me count more than the ridiculous ending, so I would still definitely recommend it. it’s certainly not for everyone, but I think it’s worth a try.
