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 (8 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 [4 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

I was reminded to watch this by Sam Altman's recent gaffe.

A few thoughts:

• Samantha is on OS1, so you could say her last name is "One". Theodore's is "Two"mbly. I take this to mean that Samantha is the real protagonist of this story. This is a reference to the fact that once humans develop superhuman AI, they will cease to be the protagonists of Earth.
• A review mentioned on Wikipedia complains that Phoenix's character is an "idiot". This is missing the point. We will all be idiots when confronted with superhuman AI. That's why it's so scary.
• In general, I like how the horror is hidden in some throwaway lines. "I live in the eternity between your words." That's some fridge horror right there. (Obligatory warning about the time-sink of TV Tropes.)
• I like how Theo's job is basically the human version of what people use LLMs for now. Very prescient.
• The scene with the human woman acting as an avatar for a non-corporeal entity for sexy times has an interesting companion in a similar scene in Blade Runner 2049, 4 years later. I need to go back and watch that one again to compare. I think the power dynamics are reversed, which is cool.
• The whole time I was watching, I was worried about what kind of telemetry Samantha was sending back to Microsoft, lol.

posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 6:19 PM on May 26 [1 favorite]

The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal.: "A review mentioned on Wikipedia complains that Phoenix's character is an "idiot". This is missing the point. We will all be idiots when confronted with superhuman AI. That's why it's so scary."

There's a... discourse in certain fanfic circles about what "qualifies" as a consensual relationship, line-testing stuff like "but what if they're another species but sentient?" or "but what if they look like a child but have the mind of a 1000-year-old?", etc. (see also The Harkness Test). Usually "competent adult human" is the standard of measurement, but after seeing Her I wondered whether in that universe Samantha was the perv for consorting with a disturbingly naive and simplistic, uh, thirtysomething dude.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:10 AM on May 27

Rhaomi: Samantha was the perv for consorting with a disturbingly naive and simplistic, uh, thirtysomething dude

That's pretty funny!

Samantha (Darth Vader voice): The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the Lolita. Now, I am the Humbert Humbert.
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 5:03 PM on May 27