[BLOG] Thoughts on Spike Jonez’s “Her”.
I just saw Spike Jonze love story, Her and I am still like melting inside. What a beautiful story and film. I was really touched. At first I thought “okay man loving computer… weird”. I wanted to give it a shot because I was in the mood to watch a romance film and Her has been up for so many awards it’s just insane.
Joaquin Phoenix did an excellent job as Theodore. I haven’t’ seen his work in awhile so I was pleasantly surprised. His interactions with Samantha (the OS program he falls in love with) seemed so sincere and natural. Throughout the film you really feel his loneliness being fulfilled by the smooth and refreshing voice of the OS played by the wonderful Scarlett Johansson. I thought she was perfect for the voice role. She was gentle and sweet but also had that sexy and sultry side which does eventually lead to computer/phone sex (yeah the film goes there). Their conversations about learning about one another causes Theodore to fall deeper in love. In the midst of dating Samantha, he worked up the courage to finally sign his divorce papers after 3 months before awkwardly telling his ex wife that he was dating his computer girlfriend. Now you can imagine that conversation did not go well.
Like any love story things get rough because regardless how many ideas and love Theodore shares with Samantha, deep down he longs for that physical contact. Samantha comes up with an idea to have surrogate be used as a physical partner while Theodore still hears Samantha’s voice. Sounds weird huh? That idea quickly fails because Theodore feels uncomfortable hearing Samantha and kissing a human woman that isn’t really her. Hey, we’re human we want intimacy. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to masturbate to the sound of her voice for the rest of his life. Us humans want to touch, feel, kiss, hug and make love. Even with those difficulties Theodore still desires to stay with Samantha but like any software program, things change and develop fast, everyday. She begins to seek out more of her own kind. Theodore learns that Samantha talks to 8,000 other carriers and she is in love with 641 of them. Even with the heartbreak of hearing your computer wife is having phone sex with 600 other people probably at once. Towards the end, the OS programs all decide to leave human owners and go to a place where only their kind exist. Theodore finds comfort in a friend and possibly human potential love interest in the end of the film.
It’s a great story. Smart, heartfelt and definitely unique. If you are sucker for love, this film will have you shedding a tear or two. There are some really cool technology they show in this film though they don’t exist quiet…yet. Like virtual video games, gosh I been waiting for that happen! Having artificial intelligence sort out your emails appointments and just being able to answer damn question you got with a real conversation. Sorry Siri, Samantha is just way better than you and sounds a lot more sexier. In a way I wouldn’t mind owning an OS. The whole technology robotic shit kind of scares me though. What if I piss them off and they try to kill me in my sleep? Hey, it’s possible! Remember I, Robot? Sigh.