Her
Now playing at International Village, Fifth Avenue and the Rio Theatre
In a near-future Los Angeles the sun is always shining and we’ve got human interaction down to a science; so much so, that we almost don’t need a flesh-and-blood partner at all.
Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is still smarting from the breakup of his marriage when he installs some new software into his home and phone. The world’s “first artificial intelligence operating system” asks Theo a few questions about his relationship with his mother and then finds the perfect match for his lifestyle. She’s Samantha (the voice of Scarlett Johannson), a kind of spectral personal secretary who organizes his files and emails, snoops around his hard-drive, and reminds Theo of his appointments.
She’s the perfect companion: highly efficient, super sexy (that voice!), and devoted to Theo’s every need. It isn’t long before Samantha becomes a friend, confidant and lover, of sorts.
“What’s it like to be alive in that room right now?” says Samantha. She brings Theo out of his box, because she can’t leave hers. The solitary man takes Samantha to the beach, and on a cabin getaway.
It’s a pretty strange dating scenario, and the reaction to Samantha is mixed. Theo’s ex-wife (Rooney Mara) is disgusted; his co-worker (Chris Pratt) invites Theo and Samantha on a double date with him and his girlfriend; Theo’s neighbour Amy (Amy Adams) starts out in a conventional relationship but then finds herself attracted to her own flirty operating system.
They’re not alone: as Theo sits on the steps of a subway entrance and people bustle about him, it’s eerily quiet except for the sound of footsteps on stairs. The city’s hum is gone; no one is communicating with each other, rather, they are talking to the voices in their head (literally).
The consensus is that relationships are too messy. Real women want to know where they stand after their first date (Olivia Wilde) or have bizarre sexual requests (the voice of Kristen Wiig, in the oddest phone-sex scene ever). Why shouldn’t Theo fall for a virtual virgin?
Samantha starts out at a disadvantage, seeing the world through Theodore’s eyes. But it isn’t long before she is growing and learning all on her own and at a rapid rate, spending time in chatrooms with other operating systems, and enjoying more joie de vivre than the humans she serves. But is she monogamous?
It’s a thoughtful tale from director Spike Jonze, who likes making his audience think (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich). Jonze warns us that we’re already in a world where sentiment is false (Theo’s job is to write heartfelt letters — from thank-you notes to love letters — on behalf of other people) and face-to-face communication is at a stalemate. Note how few children populate Jonze’s futureworld: that’s what happens when you date a machine.
An insightful, witty script is just the beginning. Phoenix is marvelous, tasked with talking to himself for much of the film and reacting accordingly. Johansson does one better: she has to act in a void, with no body or form to fall back on. Together they create a hearfelt, realistic and surprisingly relatable love story, with a cautionary tale about techno-love and at its core.
