DISCLAIMER: This review has been written in its entirety while eating my leftover Sour Patch Kids from the theater and also without the use of comparing Scarlett Johansson's character to "Siri." Let's be different, shall we?
Her is strange, Her is futuristic, Her is a work of art, Her is a great achievement in filmmaking. That sentence sounds really grammatically terrible if you are unaware that the name of the film at hand is a pronoun. Spike Jonze, director of Where The Wild Things Are, dives very deep into the element of technology and creates this movie (written by himself as well) that intertwines the impact and changing social norms our society has recently gone through. There is free-spirited laughter, fun walks down the street, a brightly transparent and hipster-ish color scheme, and, of course, some awkward moments.
Nothing to be afraid of, though... unless you live in a world where there's a plethora of smart phones and people constantly taking them out to check their emails or listen to music.
I have not heard of such a thing happening. Have you?
Joaquin Phoenix has sure made is mark in the spotlight as a weird outsider that is trying to be normal but comes off as even weirder because of this effort to seem normal. He stars in movies that provoke the mind and cover all five senses in a unique way that not many other actors of his generation can pull off. He does not change this trend while playing Theodore. A simple man, Theo works for a company that writes and sends letters between loved ones who want a more heartfelt word choice in their messages. Kind of like a very customized Hallmark. He is a lonely guy going through a divorce with his wife Catherine (Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and, along with many others, wears an ear piece and talks to a "personal" voice reading him his messages for the day.
In the past decade alone, "smart" technology has shaped the way the world turns and it has gotten to a point where there are four or five messages to turn off your cell phone before a movie starts and even signs in Subway restaurants that discourage the use of phones while ordering in line. Now imagine being on planet Earth when you don't have to worry whether the guy behind you in the grocery line is talking to you or the person in his bluetooth headset. The reason you won't have to worry is because you won't even know he's there. You won't know he's there because you will already be laughing at an inside joke between you and the person in your own headset.
Sounds kinda crazy, right? So crazy that it just might work. That is why no one stares while Theodore wanders throughout his day with his new Operating System (OS) girlfriend, Samantha.
Scarlett Johansson was recently named Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive of 2013. She has a reputation in Hollywood of being trim, curvy, and just all around beautiful. Now you have the privilege of falling in love with her voice. They way she whispers to Theodore while trying to get him to make decisions. Her laugh makes her voice crack in a way that puts her in the room right in front of you. You can't see her, you can't touch her, you can only hear her. Her might be some of her finest work.
The chemistry between Phoenix and Johansson that is conjured up out of thin air in Her is out of the ordinary and mesmerizing. There is a flow to this movie that Spike Jonze completely knocks out of the park. Amy Adams is not one to ignore as well, playing a long time friend of Theodore who is in need of her own companionship also.
You can take this movie with a grain of salt and see it as an abstract and fetishized technological world, or, you can look at it as a PSA to what people may be missing out on while downloading new apps. Either way, there is always more than what meets the eye. GRADE: 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment