I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz around this movie for months from friends who’ve seen it in other countries. I was intrigued, of course, by the weird story but the hook that got me was the fact that Joaquin Phoenix is starring in it- I knew that it’s a must-see. Last I heard of him was (I think) he had a mental breakdown, gained a lot of weight, announced his retirement from acting and that he’s decided to be a rapper. Yeah, I know, right?

So here’s my round-up of Spike Jonze’s (the man who brought you the weirdness that is Being John Malkovich) baby, Her.

Please note that there may be spoilers. Read at your own risk.

THE STORY:

Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix – Gladiator, Signs) is a man going through the final stages of his divorce from beautiful and successful wife (Catherine – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Working as a “personal letter writer” (which is exactly what it says on the tin – he writes personal, handwritten letters for other people), he is finding it difficult to move on and cope with the thought of going from being married to not being married.

Set in 2025, he purchases a new Operating System that was endorsed to “have intuition” and would be “personalized” to the specific customer’s needs. The O.S. gives him the voice of Samantha (Scarlett Johansson – The Avengers), and the O.S. quickly evolves to an entity that Theodore falls in love with.

THE GOOD:

1. The gorgeous backdrop. The moment I sat down, all I could think about was ‘where was this film shot? That city skyline’s beautiful!’
   
2. Joaquin Phoenix. There is something to be said for an actor’s talent when you focus on his face, just his face, for the most of two hours, creepy mustaches notwithstanding. He’s a creepy dude living in the future but oddly I still found him incredibly relatable, despite the high waisted pants.
   
3. Rooney Mara. She looked super pretty in this film! I read somewhere that she was cast as a replacement for Carrey Mulligan but I think she’s the better choice. She can be frail when she wants to be but you definitely see the glint in her eyes the moment she becomes angry. There’s a darkness there that sums up perfectly the problems of her character.
   
4. The Unique Plot. While it is true that The Big Bang Theory‘s done an episode with the same storyline last year, Spike Jonze took it to a whole new level. He pushed the story as far as it can go, logically, and since the treatment was done with meticulous and careful hands, everything made sense.

THE BAD:

1. The Colors. What do they mean???
   
2. The Mustache. I know, I know, that was a statement on Theodore’s “normalcy” but it gave off a creepy stalker vibe.
   

THE UGLY:

1. Scarlett Johansson. While watching the film, I kept on wondering to myself if this would be as effective if ScarJo wasn’t voicing Samantha? Because personally, that was part of the movie’s appeal to me. Had Spike Jonze kept to his original choice of Samantha Morton, would this film do as well?
   

All in all it was a good film. A bit awkward at times, but most of those moments were intentional. It’s a film that sets to capture a different angle (an evolved one) of man’s capability to endure romance and it totally goes all the way, exploring every nook and cranny. It was a bit shocking to me because I didn’t think that the writer-director would take it quite that far. But then again the movie is all about the nitty-gritty of relationships and it shows you exactly that: the evolution from the happy, beautiful and fluffy to the down right ugly and heart breaking, and will bring you to the inevitable closure and moving on, because us humans are resilient like that.

THE VERDICT: 7.5/10. Worth a watch but probably a tad bit overrated because of the weird plot.

*All photos are lifted from the film’s IMDB page.