With Her, I have now seen all 9 Best Picture nominees and all of the performances nominated, too. Her was not my favorite by any means but it is certainly different from the rest (just like Tree of Life was, and I don’t mean that in a good way).
Her (Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson) – OK, I was bored. But I was also intrigued. If you value creativity and originality, Her is among the most unique movies of the year. Nobody does loneliness like writer/director Spike Jonze (his birth name is Adam Spiegel), who turned Being John Malkovich and Adaptation into cult classics for the desperate. His films are very strange. Her is no exception.
Set in the not-too-distant future, Her introduces us to writer Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix — talk about weird). Twombly lives in an impersonal, tech-driven, modernistic world where people hire his company to write warm, revealing and personal letters to spouses, friends, and others. He expresses the emotions of a sympathetic, caring lover in a manner that seems very quaint and natural. But Theo is lonely, living in a beautiful apartment with a great view. His best friend is a former college pal, Amy (not much of a stretch for Amy Adams), whose husband is a narcissist. The sensitive Theo recently broke up with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Catherine (Rooney Mara of Dragon Tattoo fame), and he misses her. He delays signing the divorce papers, and he is filled with memories of their good times together. Theo works and goes home to his apartment, where he spends most of his time playing interactive, large-as-life video games.
One day, while shopping, he sees an ad for a new Operating System, OS1, that is so amazingly personal that it is capable of learning, feeling, friending and talking dirty. He buys it and finds the friend, lover, and soul mate he always wanted. He names her Samantha (she is brilliantly voiced by Scarlett Johansson). I told you it was a weird movie. He talks to her constantly, endlessly. The film centers on the growth of both characters. Everything goes well for a while but, just like all relationships, the couple grows at different rates. Remember how fast the WOPR computer “learned” in War Games. Well, Samantha grows at computer speed; no guy can do that.
The premise is intriguing. But it naturally creates a dialogue-heavy, no-action film where little actually happens. At its core, this is a love story you have seen a hundred times. Does the boy get the girl? It reminds me of one of the best recent romantic comedies, 500 Days of Summer, but without the fun and electricity.
There is a big message here: The world of the future is going to be increasingly impersonal and lonely, which won’t meet the needs of everyone. In The Year 2525, you can develop a relationship with your computer operating system.
Her has a low-tone soundtrack and interesting, if muted, photography (it was filmed in Shanghai and LA). The wardrobe design speaks to the drabness of Jonze’s future world with almost exclusively solid colors, dominated by orange, gray and white. Theo wears the same orange shirt and gray slacks in many scenes.
If I hadn’t fought sleep throughout the matinee, I might have given Her more credit. It wins for originality of premise and for an impressive performance by Phoenix, who appears in almost every scene in the movie and all by himself throughout. But boredom is not an asset. I wasn’t mesmerized by Nebraska’s slow pace and Her is slower than that.