HER

AUTHOR'S RATING: 9/10

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Romantic comedies are easy to predict. Add science fiction to it, and we are probably looking at something that would either be a huge success, or a major failure. Spike Jonze's 2013 film “Her” was one of the successful ones, in terms of critical acclaim. Not only is it a beautiful story of love, it incorporates fantasy and can be thought of as a proper prediction of how life could be in the near future.
Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) writes letters for a living. His work requires him to write personalised letters on behalf of his clients for their loved ones. The irony is that Theodore himself is unhappy in his personal life as his wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) and he had separated a year earlier, but they were yet to end their marriage on pen and paper. Sad, and lonely, Theodore seeks comfort in voice-driven chat rooms online, but to no avail. The dates that his friends set him up on don't end well due to his introvert nature. But the leaping technology comes up with an intelligent operating system that works in every way a human mind would, and more. Theodore, who lacks a proper friend, buys the OS, and it personalises itself accordingly -- with a female voice as per Theodore's preferences, and names itself Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).
Theodore and Samantha soon become friends. With Samantha's ability to feel emotions and “grow” in experience, love blooms between the man and the intelligent OS. Theodore's friends and co-workers at first ridicule this idea, but soon come to terms with it, as an increasing number of people start falling in love with their own personalised OS, including Theodore's recently divorced friend Amy (Amy Adams). Theodore's relationship with Samantha's virtual existence grows into a rather deep one, and is followed by Theodore's divorce. Samantha worries, though, that her lack of a physical existence might drive Theodore away, and she makes futile attempts at making up for it. However, a plot twist awaits as the story unfolds, and we catch an insight of Theodore's inner conflicts.
This futuristic film is more than just a longing of the makers; it is a portrayal of our dependence on technology, and it predicts that the day when intelligent computers with their own minds are available is not far away. But don't think that the makers of “Her” overlooked human emotions and bonding; there are scenes in the movie that makes you aware of your own emotions, and portrays love and heartbreak with astounding vividness.
Joaquin Phoenix is worthy of every accolade for his performance in “Her”. Scarlett Johansson's voice portrayal of Samantha was one of the best I have come across, with every emotion expressed accurately. The storyline, cinematography and soundtrack are laudable.
“Her” is rated “R” and contains explicit language and a few obscenities. It's a story of love that beautifully portrays the human need of companionship. It was one movie I'm glad I spent 126 minutes on.