Her (2013)

Directed by: Spike Jonze
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Her” is the latest creation from inventive writer, director, and filmmaker Spike Jonze, four years after the not so catchy “Where the Wild Things Are”. This character study, set in a super technological L.A., follows a curious phase in the life of lonely and disoriented Theodore, a writer who circumstantially falls in love with the female sexy voice and enigmatic ‘personality’ of his brand new operating system. Coming from a failed relationship, and in the middle of a divorce process, Theodore’s struggle visibly carries pain disguised through the gentle delineation of an undecided and mildly shy temperament. Well aware of his problems dealing with emotions and feelings and avoiding serious commitment, Theodore starts to live a dangerous cybernetic adventure, involving us in its tangle of sadness, hope, frustration, and excitement, which feel very authentic. Joaquin Phoenix was not so brilliant as in “The Master”, but he was still amazing in a different way, thoroughly conveying his confusion, dependence, and uncertainty. Almost in a dreamlike atmosphere where melancholy prevails, the film carries deep sadness, but thankfully, from time to time, this dominant mood is broken up with a few hilarious moments (the peak was a virtual creature living inside a computer game). In “Her”, the weird obsession of “Lars and the Real Girl” mixes with the dreamy romanticism of “To the Wonder”. The result isn’t any masterpiece but its conception and execution were no less than thought provoking.