Her Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Her
Year: 2013
Director: Spike Jonze
Country: US
Language: English

Famed American director Spike Jonze has made a career out of making films with unusual premise's. His first, Being John Malkovich, was about a puppeteer who found a portal in an office building, this portal leads directly into the head of John Malkovich. He would eventually work with legendary actress Meryl Streep on Adaptation and create a live-action version of Marice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Her is Jonze's fourth feature film, and it proves to be quite stunning.

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Theodore Twombly, a lonely man in the final stages of a nasty divorce. When he's not working as a writer, playing video games or hanging out with his friends, he's looking for love anywhere he can find it. He decides to purchase an OS named Samantha, eventually the two fall in love.

Though the film is set in the future, it doesn't seem too distant. Nowadays many long distance couples fall in love through technology, rather than seeing each other in person. Modern innovations like Skype and Facetime allow them to see each other despite hundreds of miles of distance. The idea that people could fall in love with technology seems more of a possibility, as long as it has the processing speed that Jonze's Sam has. Sam reminds me of HAL from Kubrick's 2001:A Space Odyssey. Both are machines evolving consciousness, but mistakenly think they're capable of complicated emotions and making decisions for themselves, which leads to harming their owners either emotionally or physically.

Her brings to light a commentary on our dependency of programmed living and our need to maintain sociability when direct communication avenues have been stricken from life's normality. Jonze creates a a multilayered film experience; it's both a character study of an isolated man and a critique of contemporary society. Oddly enough the love between Theodore and Sam feels conventional, honest and heartfelt. Their love is what many single people can only dream about. However even love with a computer programmed only to love has its complications. 

In conclusion, Her is a remarkable picture with excellent cinematography that shows us the isolation and beauty of Theodore's world. The acting by Joaquin Phoenix is stunning, he has done an even better job than his last film, which was Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. Hopefully Spike Jonze continues to make more films like this. Praise it! 4/5