![]() ![]() He also gets off some pretty good jokes concerning video games.īut he also creates moments of genuinely upsetting heartbreak, as in Theo's inability to understand what went wrong with his marriage to Catherine ( Rooney Mara, quite wonderful in what could have been a problematic role) and their continuing inadvertent emotional laceration of each other at their sole "present" meeting in the movie. ![]() Throughout the movie, while never attempting the sweep of a satire, Jonze drops funny hints about what the existence of artificial intelligence in human society might affect that society. At first Theo feels a little odd about his new "girlfriend," and then finds out that his pal Amy ( Amy Adams) is getting caught up in a relationship with the OS left behind by her estranged husband. In the midst of the heavyosity, Jonze finds occasions for real comedy. And while Samantha's programming is designed to make her likable to Theo, her assimilation of humanity's tics soon have the operating system feeling emotion, or the simulation of it, and while the viewer is being beguiled by the peculiarities and particularities of Theo and Samantha's growing entanglement, he or she is also living through a crash course on the question of what it means to be human. "I can understand how the limited perspective can look to the non-artificial mind," she playfully observes to Theo. Samantha, being, you know, a computer, has the ability to process data, and a hell of a lot of it, at a higher speed than human Theo. It's in Theo and Samantha's initial interaction that "Her" finds its most interesting, and troubling depths. The female voice (portrayed beautifully by Scarlett Johansson) gives herself the name " Samantha" and soon Samantha is reorganizing Theo's files, making him laugh, and developing something like a human consciousness. The movie shows this product advertised and, presumably, bought in remarkable quantity, but focuses on Theo's interaction with his OS, which he gives a female voice. The old, fun you"), falls in love with the artificially intelligent operating system of his computer. The futuristic premise sets the stage for an unusual love story: one in which Theo, still highly damaged and sensitive over the breakup of his marriage ("I miss you," a friend tells him in a voice mail message "Not the sad, mopey you. There will likely be few think pieces about how the fashion for high-waisted pants in this future makes life unpleasant for the obese.) (There has already been, and there will no doubt be more, think pieces about how Caucasian this future L.A. A big part of the movie's charm is just how thoroughly Jonze has imagined and constructed this future Los Angeles, from its smoggy skies to its glittering skyscrapers to its efficient mass transit system and much more. The way Theodore's smart phone and its earpiece work is different from ours, and soon it becomes clear that "Her" is something of a science-fiction film, set in the not-too-distant but distinctly fantastic future. This film certainly raises that idea, but I think it handles the topic with a lot more ambiguity.As the movie continues, and the viewer learns more of what an ordinary guy Theodore is-he checks his e-mail on the ride home from work, just like pretty much all of us these days-director Jonze, who also wrote the movie's script, constructs a beguiling cinematic world that also starts to embrace the viewer. The message of Dont Date Robots is a pretty well-explored topic in sci-fi and is always fascinating to me. It's something very real and very relatable. If there's a message (and I think there's many messages you can take from the story) is that sometimes people who are in love grow apart, and it's not anybody's fault. It's a fascinating story to watch unfold. The film shows us the progression of Theo and Samantha's relationship from beginning to end. Her world has become way bigger than him. They still love each other, but Samantha has grown so far and so fast that she's outgrown Theo. The same happened with Theo and Samantha in the end. But by that point in the film we've become more accepting of their love.Ĭatherine and Theo were in love but they then grew apart, as did Amy and Charles. But his true friends in the film, Amy and Paul (Chris Pratt's character), were totally supportive and not weirded out by him "dating" an AI.Ĭatherine reacts to the news that he's dating an AI the same way I did earlier, with revulsion and disgust. My reaction when he first called her his girlfriend was to cringe, as I'm sure it was for most of the audience. That certainly is a huge theme of the film. I don't necessarily think its about nothing being able to replace human connection. There's so much to unpack and it has so many layers. ![]() ![]() I just finished watching it for the first time. ![]()
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