Sunday 01.05.14
HER
From his music videos to his films — even his commercials and work on the Jackass series — Spike Jonze tells original and visually beautiful stories. A couple of months ago I had the chance to interview him (you’ll hear more about that in the future) and also see his new film HER. The official title is HER A Spike Jonze Love Story. This is an apt title since it is a wholly personal piece of work, it’s also the first film he’s written a screenplay on his own. It tells the story of Theodore Twombly (a made up name if I’ve ever heard one), played by Joaquin Phoenix, who installs a new OS on his computer; a super advanced version of Siri called Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). She’s so smart and charming, and everything he’s ever wanted in a companion that Theodore can’t help but fall in love with HER. It’s easy to see how this film could collapse under the weight of its fantastical plot, but as with everything Jonze does, there’s much more to it. The film raises the expected questions about our obsessive relationship with technology, but it also raises plenty of other questions about our relationships with each other. Samantha is so adorable and attentive you really start to think that maybe a digital soulmate is all one really needs. HER is my 3rd favorite Jonze film (behind Adaptation and Being John Malkovich) but in many ways it’s his most mature and thoughtful.
