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Spike Jonze’s Her is a deeply melancholic film featuring a remarkable performance by Joaquin Phoenix. It is one of my top five favorite films of all time and will always continue to connect with me.
Winner of Best Original Screenplay at the 2014 Academy Awards, the script is nothing short of genius. Jonze presents our world in the not-too-distant future. The “advanced” technology shown isn’t too far off from what we now have at our fingertips. Characters in the film are constantly in contact with technology. Phoenix’s Theodore walks alone through the city and stands apart on the train while listening to music and hearing news stories through his A.I. powered earpiece. The film shows how technology can actually lead to separation from others and loneliness. One of my favorite themes from this film is the idea of technology (A.I.) vs humans and the natural world.
Theodore’s relationship with the A.I. Samantha lacks a physical level. They fall in love with each other through conversation and an intellectual connection. It is a remarkably believable romance. Their love feels real and compelling. The dialogue in Jonze’s script builds a deep connection between the two. The technology fills the void in Theodore’s life that was previously filled by his relationship with Catherine, his ex-wife. Her asks a few different questions about our relationship with technology as humans. Does technology keep us connected to others or does it, instead, separate us?
The opening of the film sees Theodore at his job, writing personalized cards for couples. There is a bittersweet falseness to his work. Technology makes it easier for couples to express their love for one another, but these messages are not truly from the other person. This opening scene ties into the whole idea of Theodore’s relationship with Samantha. The love he feels is real but the person is not. Whether or not this is the right thing for the company behind the A.I. to do is open to the interpretation of the audience. Samantha, Theodore learns, is not just in love with him. She is having thousands of other conversations and relationships with other users simultaneously. For the audience and Theodore, everything that came before this reveal in the film is now questionable. How many other people like Theodore experienced love and happiness because of the A.I.?
The film’s ending shows Theodore writing a letter to Catherine and later sitting on a rooftop with his friend Amy, watching the sunrise over the city skyline. He reconnects with the physical people in life that he had since ignored. Humans may be more complicated and difficult than A.I. but they offer a deeper, more complex connection. Theodore’s relationship with Samantha allowed him to feel love again and remind him of the good times in his marriage. He now feels gratitude for everything he shared with Catherine and begins to understand the complicated nature of love. Technology serves a useful purpose of forcing Theodore to realize that he can be happy. He learns to reach out and mend the relationships with those around him, no longer feeling isolated from the world.
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