This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Irvine chapter.
Last week, the 2014 Oscar nominations were released, honoring Her (Spike Jonze) with four nominations in “Music,” “Writing (Original Screenplay),” “Production Design,” and the coveted “Best Picture.” While I cannot predict the winners, I can honestly say Spike Jonze’s latest masterpiece is the best film I have seen in theaters in a very long time. The film was only given wide release on January 10th, but the cinema in University Town Center has featured the film since the end of December. As UC Irvine students, we’ve been given prime access. Now, whether one crosses the concrete bridge over to UTC or drives around in search of a larger theater, everyone has the opportunity to check out Her before the Oscars on March 2nd, 2014.
Her is an 126 minute-long discussion about love, intelligence, technology, loss, and life. There are so many concepts explored in this movie that it is impossible to summarize accurately. On the surface, Her is about a not-so-distant future, in which artificial intelligence is introduced to mankind for the first time in the form of an operating system that evolves and expands through its experiences. Rather than a computer, it is a consciousness that communicates through machinery. In the midst of a divorce with his lifelong love, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) installs the new operating system in search of companionship. The consciousness names herself Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), and the two become quick friends. In between sorting through emails and late-night video game sessions, Samantha and Theodore fall in love.
Obviously, this is not exactly a conventional courtship. While the idea of a disembodied soul/human relationship itself is not the most relatable, this connection catalyzes a film that is ultimately about ideas. Rather than establishing an argument or overall message about technology or love (as I had expected), Her explores a multitude of philosophical concepts. Although some of them will resonate strongly with you, others pry open your mind and make you look at your humaness in a whole new way. To name only a few of the topics covered, this movie navigates the differences between sex and intimacy, the reversal of expectations about what is supposed to be personal (writing letters to your loved ones) and impersonal (using your computer), and the strangeness of Earth-bound existence from the eyes of someone discovering it for the first time. There is constant debate about what constitutes a “real” relationship, and at some points during the film, it is amazing just how real this relationship feels while sitting in a movie theater. This film had me thinking the entire time I was watching it, without ever reaching a definite conclusion about anything.
But even with this level of abstract discussion, Her’s impact is made stronger by its enjoyable plot. This film is not just some philosophical, mind-blowing whirlwind with beautiful shots to go along with it. Everything in the film works together, from the intersecting love stories, to the gorgeous cinematography, to the well-crafted dialogue, to the emotion-driven acting, to the calming music, to the color-scheme of muted primary colors, to the sparingly-used CGI. All of these components lean one another other to create an awe-inspiring and sensory-loaded film. These elements transport you into a different world that is just similar enough to our own, making it no far stretch to imagine yourself as a character. That is what I truly love about this film—it is mesmerizing. Every detail is significant in building this all-consuming universe, and I am hungry to re-immerse myself in it and discover the story all over again.