Her

Spike Jones’ sci-fi-romantic-comedy-drama (there’s a mouthful) Her is a captivating film set in Los Angeles in the near future. Despite, or maybe because of, its quirky premise of a man falling in love with his operating system, it raises profound philosophical questions about relationships and technology, about reality, love and death.  

The film opens with Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) in front of a computer screen writing personal love letters for people with difficulties expressing their feelings. This is ironic because Theodore (never Ted) is a lonely, introverted man who has trouble identifying and talking about his feelings. He is depressed because he is postponing a divorce from his childhood sweetheart Catherine (Rooney Mara).

He decides to purchase a new operating system (OS) that’s designed to meet his every need. He chooses a female identity for it, and she calls herself Samantha (Scarlett Johansson). Soon he and Samantha are having philosophical discussions about love and life, and she develops psychologically, while lamenting that she is not embodied in the world.

Theodore also talks with his good friend Amy (Amy Adams) and learns that her husband has left her. She says she also has an OS friend and affirms Theodore’s relationship with Samantha.

There are many humorous moments. Digital communication is spoken and involves earpieces. When he goes out, Theodore always carries his flip screen in his pocket with a large paper clip attached so that the aperture is visible and Samantha can see what he sees.

The look of the film is also funny and apt. The men wear high-waisted pants and pastel-colored shirts, while the women’s clothes are fairly plain. This technological future reflects a masculine perspective, with its games and toys, as well as its loneliness, a major theme of the film. Yet it also includes strong female characters and explores human relationships.

All the philosophical discussion in the film can make it sound cerebral, and it’s certainly intelligent, but this is a very emotional film. We soon accept that a man can have this kind of relationship with an OS, despite how foreign that sounds. What helps us accept this is the amazing performance of Johansson. She portrays powerful emotion through her voice alone. And Phoenix’s performance is equally great.

Her is sweet, funny, smart and moving, a wonderful film about technology and relationship, which should be attractive to men and women.

It’s rated R and includes explicit sexual language.