Her (2013)

February 29, 2024 10:16 AM

[TRAILER] In the not so distant future, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely writer, purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every need. To Theodore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system (Scarlett Johansson).

Also starring Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pratt, Portia Doubleday, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Brian Cox, Lil Buck.

Written and directed by Spike Jonze. Produced by Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay for Annapurna/Warner Brothers. Cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema. Edited by Eric Zumbrunnen, Jeff Buchanan. Music by Arcade Fire.

94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Max. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (5 comments total)

I saw a bit of this on TV once and was really confused that the guy who made Do the Right Thing also made this. The first room I shared my confusion with got a great laugh out of me confusing Spike Jonze and Spike Lee.

As penance I should probably watch both films.
posted by pwnguin at 2:27 PM on February 29 [3 favorites]

I saw this a few years back and, surprisingly, liked it quite a lot. Phoenix nails his character so completely. Johansson’s voice work is pretty damned stunning, if you really listen to it. This is the sort of “soft,” human-scale, sci-fi I really love but rarely see.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:04 AM on March 1 [3 favorites]

Joaquin Phoenix manages to just skip off the atmosphere of planet sadboi-incel in his performance here. It could so easily have gone badly.
posted by Molesome at 9:19 AM on March 1 [2 favorites]

I saw this on a cold, drizzly winter’s day, and it was the second of two films I watched at the multiplex that afternoon. After the first, it looked too unpleasant to head out into so I stuck around for one more movie.

The film immediately before was Inside Llewin Davis. That was a good day for movies.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:51 AM on March 1 [1 favorite]

This was a far better and more prescient movie than it had any business being. The cast is uniformly excellent and it's packed with genuinely interesting big ideas but doesn't forget to sweat the small stuff (the safety pin at the bottom of his shirt pocket to make sure the phone's camera could peek out at the world was just adorable). My partner and I were talking about it for weeks after.

Also, the bit with AI Alan Watts. And that ending. Perfect.
posted by phooky at 6:55 AM on March 3