Samantha seems to have it all: brains, beauty, and charisma. She’ll do your bills in the afternoon, and spend the night watching a movie with you. She’ll agree with everything you have to say and after an argument, which is, in fact, a rare occurrence, she’ll still be there to listen to all of your problems. Is Samantha the perfect girl?
Yet, Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) doesn’t really exist. No, she’s not one man’s fantasy, or a character in a book. She’s an intelligent operating system, and the unlikely star of the Spike Jonze film, Her.
The film centers on Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a melancholy greeting card writer, who purchases a mobile operating system that acts like a human being. Her is an ode to one man’s journey to find love, and the extent that he will reach in order to find “the right one.”
Ironically, Her is one of Johansson’s most evocative roles to date. Though viewers don’t get to see her grace the screens, her voice is emotive and places Samantha in the room with Theodore; she is not simply a voice, but an entity that seems to be in the room with other actors.
Phoenix embodies the shy, socially awkward Theodore. He is the introverted middle-aged man stuck in the cyclical pattern of life.
The relationship between Samantha and Theodore, though unconventional, is sweet and poignant. They go to the beach together, play video games together, and have serious discussions. Perhaps the irony lies in the fact that Samantha is a digital creation, yet the relationship between the two is more “real” than those of many human couples.
Her marks Jonze’s screenwriting debut, a risk-worthy plunge that has paid off; Jonze won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Though the operating system technology used in the film may not yet exist, Her is a very real modern-day commentary on our reliance on technology, a sordid relationship that cuts off our ties with those around us. It’s taking “I’m in love with my phone” to a whole new level.