Her

Theodore Thwombly (Joaquin Phoenix, with a mustache) is at the beach. In what is one of a few group of moments in Her, he finishes his long walk, arrives, sits and finally lays down. That was the point in the movie when I became suspicious of what it’s really talking about, especially because this scene unexpectedly resembles two pieces of one scene from The Master, starring Phoenix as a drunk World War II veteran who wakes up – at – surprise – the beach wanders through America looking for himself. Both films also star Amy Adams in supporting roles, although I’m not sure there’s similarities between her characters’ dramatic needs. It may be a coincidence, but it was more than enough for me assure myself that Spike Jonze remains one of the most original American filmmakers of present cinema; moreover, it made me realize that I took too long to watch the movie through the appropriate perspective.

The film is defined as “A Spike Jonze love story”, and indeed it is. Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are) never stops  at superficial levels, whether with the support of the big Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) or by himself. This time, he jumped on his own into the writing/directing experience and delivered us his most visual picture, combining a delightfully elaborate and lighthearted script and a use of colors that defines the movie and fills the screen in many tones and motifs.

The film also displays a kind of relationship that’s too puzzling to be fully accepted and too pure to be simply undermined: Thwombly, a writer who’s going through a recent melancholic phase, finds shelter in an Operating System (OS) programmed to answer him as a friend, in a sort of artificial intelligence that seems to be what would happened if HAL 9000 hadn’t made a crucial error in 2001. The result is one of the most complex romantic comedies I’ve seen so far.

Her features a palpable future to us. It’s not utopian, dystopian or distant: it might even be a fair forecast of our recent future, with some reservations. Games are even more 3D friendly, mobile devices are even more touchscreen friendly, plugs are even more voice command friendly. The architecture is almost entirely contemporaneous, but it’s visual uniqueness flashes with the abusive use of transparent walls and bright shades of yellow, pink, red and blue. Theodore himself uses such colored shirts that he becomes the center of attention in practically every scene. We see, however, a silent depiction of many consequences of the use of gadgets and industrial solutions to day-to-day activities, which enhances his isolation and leads him to look up for artificial company.

As a match is made, he meets Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), a patient, joyful OS who surprises Thwonbly with her humanity, the main reason why the relationship evolves and becomes the light of their lives. Phoenix as the boyfriend is as quiet and mysterious as in his last role in The Master, but his character boasts with friendly emotions and a familiar sadness that we all carry on our lives. Johansson as Samantha is another proof that she’s a great understated actress, and his vocal performance is so lovely it makes you wish there was a double screening with Lost in Translation (another film that touches some of this movie’s issues, especially loneliness and the life in the city).

Their relationship grows increasingly human, but it never reaches a truly natural, human connection. There’s one hugely important plot point, when Thwombly, concerned about what appears to be a malfunction of his communication with Samantha, interrogates her about operational issues, and, instead of omitting this information, she reveals it right away, almost without hesitating. It’s the major moment when we notice her artificiality and imperfection in humanoid standards, which is visible throughout the whole story, but especially perceptible at this point of the relationship.

It’s no brand new information by now that Her is a skillful, beautiful film. It’s a deep, soulful mixture of visuals and lessons, which are complex and hard to decipher. The spectator must be prepared to look forward to what it looks like and to what it feels like, because the small technological revolution that sets the story turns human relationships upside down, as if it were shaking a tree so that the fruits fall in our hands. There are two major supporting characters that reveals us secrets from Phoenix’s character and Her’s overall message: Amy (Amy Adams), a close friend who also befriends an OS and relates to Thwombly in a reciprocal friendly shoulder experience, and Catherine (Rooney Mara), his separated wife who wishes to sign the divorce papers for good and a major reason for his introversion. It’s right before and right after he meets with the people closest to him that we are shown Theodore’s most insightful and emotional moments, ranging from dialogues filled with warming happiness to the saddest reflections. What also plays a role that requires a special attention is the use of colors: there’s a strong connection between the colors of the scenario and of his clothes and his unstable, multifaceted behavior towards his world.

After watching Her, I promptly decided that it’s a movie that require multiple viewings to understand, but a quick one to appreciate. It succeeds in nearly every level, and its flaws are divided and minimized in ways that nullify any possible harm to the film. It’s occasionally too romantic, occasionally too saturated and sometimes its few script imperfections are itchier than similar ones in other romantic pictures. This only happens, nonetheless, because it’s larger than these problems, and it stands out as a unique production, full of beauty and purity. It leaves many questions, probably to be answered with further analysis: how does it really tackle the concepts of humanity and love? What would happen had Charlie Kaufman co-written it? Is it all gonna happen to us? Who the OS really is and why what happens to it does happen?

Her

Year: 2013

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson (voice), Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pratt

Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay; Best Picture (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Original Song (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated)