“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.”
“Her”, directed by Spike Jonze, tells the story of Theodore Twamley (Jonze stretching the bounds of reality with that name), played by Joaquin Phoenix, as he falls in love with Samantha, an operating system and attempts to recover from a breakup.
This is the fourth film by director Spike Jonze after making Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where the wild things are. This man never fails to amaze me. The story may not be as innovative as some have been labeling it, but it is none-the-less pretty spectacular. The central tone of melancholia is shown from the get go, with Theodore writing a love letter to someone as someone else – he works for love letter writing company. He goes through so many emotional states throughout the film that he seems to be an incredibly realistic person, and more importantly, very relatable. The thing that makes him so relatable is the fact that he finds life so confusing, because when he stops to think about it, nothing really makes sense. It is also very funny, with quirky humour to be found at countless times. Although, i found many people in the theatre laughing at things that i thought were very serious and sincere, which suggests that the film is so multi-layered that everyone looks at it in a unique way.
The script was great, Jonze making his first solo written script. It perfectly captured the theme of love as the writing was full of realism, with the couple of Theodore and Samantha talking about really obscure concepts and acting like a real couple, something rarely seen in films.
Joaquin Phoenix is, as per usual, outstanding in the leading role. He shows a massive acting range in this film, which encompasses everything from ecstatic joy to depression. Scarlett Johansson, who plays Samantha, also strangely shows a great range through her voice work. It has to be a hard job to project that much emotion just by talking. I really bought into their relationship, with their love for each other being completely understandable and truly beautiful throughout. Amy Adams plays Theodore’s best friend, who is again great as usual. She really captures a sense of sincerity and naivety with her character. The other actor of note is Chris Pratt, one of Theodore’s work mates, who is making a name for himself as a really fantastic screen presence. I last saw him in The Lego Movie as the central character, and he will be playing Starlord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy in cinemas this summer. He’s definitely one to watch.
This film has a very unique artistic style, with a vibrant array of colours creating the scenery. It does look beautiful throughout, because of Jonze’s lovely and quietly optimistic view of the near future. The cinematography is excellent, with every shot full of imagination and wonder. The costume design was also fantastic, since everyone’s clothing looked slightly off-the-wall and retro, but completely new at the same time. I really need to get myself a red shirt like Theodore’s…
Furthermore, the soundtrack by Arcade Fire was top-notch. Most of the music would beautifully compliment the film and push the whimsy and romantic nature of it.
Overall, it was pretty damn great. It can be criticised that the character of Theodore was too similar to Jonze’s other leads, but that’s kind of a non-issue, because that type of sad, conflicted artist character is excellent. The only real issue that i had with the film was that at points i felt less engaged that i should have been for some reason. For example, in some of the later sad scenes, i felt like i should have been crying, but i wasn’t. That’s a major nit-pick though. It is probably my least favourite Spike Jonze film, but thats a bit like saying ‘that’s my least favourite oscar’.
I would definitely recommend.
9/10
Harvey Gardner 