Her (2013)
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Critics Consensus: Sweet, soulful, and smart, Spike Jonze's Her uses its just-barely-sci-fi scenario to impart wryly funny wisdom about the state of modern human relationships.
Critics Consensus: Sweet, soulful, and smart, Spike Jonze's Her uses its just-barely-sci-fi scenario to impart wryly funny wisdom about the state of modern human relationships.
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Movie Info
Spike Jonze takes the helm for this comedy about a withdrawn writer (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with his computer's highly advanced operating system. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi- Rating:
- R (for language, sexual content and brief graphic nudity)
- Genre:
- Drama , Romance , Science Fiction & Fantasy , Special Interest
- Directed By:
- Spike Jonze
- Written By:
- Spike Jonze
- In Theaters:
- Dec 18, 2013 Wide
- On DVD:
- May 13, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $25.6M
Cast
-
Joaquin Phoenix
as Theodore Twombly -
Amy Adams
as Amy -
Scarlett Johansson
as Samantha -
Rooney Mara
as Catherine -
Chris Pratt
as Paul -
Olivia Wilde
as Blind Date
Related News & Features
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RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Her and That Awkward Moment
– Rotten Tomatoes
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Now Streaming: Her and I, Frankenstein
– Rotten Tomatoes
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Critic Reviews for Her
All Critics (229) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (216) | Rotten (13) | DVD (2)
A keeper of a film, quietly dazzling
It's an odd, sad love story, combined with a meditation on technology as an accelerator of social loneliness. Not a small part of it seems to be an allegory of lonely guys and their fear of women.
In a dark theater, surrounded by the wondrous world Jonze creates in Her, it's difficult to avoid getting emotional.
Her shares a lot of themes with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, another story about the difficulty of moving on from relationships that once seemed destined to last forever.
Delightfully entertaining, if slightly unnerving ...
Her is a wistful, wonderful meditation on where we are and where we might be going.
A provocatively-relevant film about how technology can make people dangerously introspective.
Her explores fantastical ideas in ways we wish more films would: cerebrally, maturely, and non-reliant on action.
Her is a winning discussion of the idealization of women and the possessive nature of monogamous relationships in a somewhat warmer fashion than Vertigo or Ruby Sparks while admitting that its a problem for both genders.
While intimacy and exclusivity are the core ideas being explored, very little is taboo...'Eliza,' you've come a long way, baby.
"Her" is the finest writing and directorial endeavor of Spike Jonze's career.
This quirky, clever, thought-provoking film is an all-too-credible prediction of the way humanity is heading, but is also sharply observant of the way we interact with technology, and each other, today.
A lyrical, deeply felt movie with a surprisingly gentle spirit.
Phoenix's performance is imbued with such genuine heartsickness that Theodore's musings on why his marriage fell apart ring of piercing, real-life regret, not break-up bromides.
'Her' reduces love to a purely intellectual pursuit. The body is oddly irrelevant, the soul absent, reproduction abandoned. The result is dehumanizing. And yet fascinating.
An abundantly earnest look at the pain of loss and the rebirth of new love that somehow feels wholly original and familiar at the same time.
It's an incredible technological tale about love, human connection, and a question of a higher power.
The only other filmmaker who knows how to make sound, music and moment fit like a fitting of a perfectly suited slipper would be Sofia Coppola. Patience. Trust.
If Her is indeed a male fetish fantasy (as one journalist claimed), it's an odd one, presumably aimed at the same men who get a thrill from having their member sheathed in sandpaper.
As Her slips into an inevitable melancholy, it becomes less about trans-humanity and more about, well, humanity.
A beautiful, bewitching and deceptively warm experience.
For the first time with Her, the relationships Jonze brings to the big screen blossom into something bigger than the story and setting around them.
Witty, tender and arrestingly gorgeous, Her is a masterpiece. Phoenix's central performance is of the lofty levels we have come to expect of him while Johansson disarms with only her voice.
In a calculatedly ambiguous way, Jonze appears to be both simultaneously mocking and embracing a genre (a tactic he used previously in Adaptation).
Audacious gimmicky sci-fi romance story between a lonely divorced writer with his newly purchased OS1.
A film you can revisit time and time again.
Audience Reviews for Her
Spike Jonze doesn't make a lot of feature length films, but when he does they're eye poppingly, jaw droppingly good. His quirky approach to writing his screenplays, and his reliance on real world emotional responses, bridge together unique, palatable, and yet hauntingly moving characters that mirror ourselves and what we wish to achieve. Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore, a man removed from the social sphere after his impending divorce devastates him. He has friends and acquaintances, but he is more interested in his loneliness and technological worldview than engaging in any form of intimacy. He buys an AI, called an OS 1, which names itself Samantha (Johansson). Throughout the film we watch him fall in love with his operating system, which apparently becomes a common occurrence in this new futuristic world. The film subtly shows a connection between our reliance on technology, and the growing gap in human relationships. Samantha serves as a toehold for Theodore to realize what it is to live again, and also a metaphor for the constant problems he throws into relationships. She is both the one who changes his outlook on life, helps him understand love, and also serves as a mediator for his problems. It's a very complex romantic comedy/drama, but also a film that shows the scope of human emotion, and the vast depths of true love. The ending can be interpreted as you will, though I believe it showcases the emotional evolution that brings Theodore back into the world of the living, and makes sense due to the technological prowess of the OS shown in this film. Great performances from Phoenix, and the supporting cast, which is mostly made up of female figures, including Johansson, Adams, Wilde, and Mara. This film is simply a delight, while also being a bittersweet challenge.
MoreSuper Reviewer
A lonely writer unwilling to commit to a relationship because of a traumatic break-up finds himself falling for the artificially intelligent Operating System of his computer. This near-future blending of romance and sci-fi has a similarly quirky feel to that of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Her prefers existential soul-searching to the quirkiness of Michel Gondry's much loved tale however and as a result feels rather more intimate than its more overtly comedic counterpart. Joaquin Phoenix puts in a very honest performance as the confused human half of the relationship, not sure whether what he is feeling is "real" (whatever that might mean!) and there are some amusing and insightful scenes dealing with the current trend of the ever-more intimate blending of social relationships and technology we are currently seeing. This makes for a vision of the near future which seems not only authentic but almost inevitable and Spike Jonzes' sensitive handling of the subject is perceptive without being judgemental. Sweet-natured and heart warming, Her is like a re-imagining of A.I. by Woody Allen in his prime and fans of Eternal Sunshine are sure to fall in love all over again.
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Super Reviewer
One of the most intensely beautiful films ever seen. Stirring with its cohesive themes as much as the very remarkable music and visuals, probably most of its arresting power lies in its ability to captivate you with the sadness and human sorrow so tearfully prevailing.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Her is one smart and thoughtful science fiction movie about relationships and humanity's reliance on technology in today's society. The acting is also strong from Joaquin Phoenix and a small supporting cast. Although Scarlet Johansson isn't on screen, she gives a great vocal performance as Samantha and makes her every bit as human as the other characters. This movie really will make you think about how we interact with technology and how it impacts dating and relationships now and in the future. The only problem I had was the incredibly slow pace that made it seem like this way taking way too long to get where it was going. It's not a particularly "enjoyable" watch, but definitely still worthwhile for the discussions it will bring up. I wouldn't watch it again, but it was definitely worth my time.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Her Quotes
- Theodore Twombly:
- No. Don't do this. You don't turn this around on me. You're the one that's being selfish. We're in a relationship.
- Samantha:
- But's the heart not like a box that gets filled up. It expands in size the more you love. I'm different from you. This doesn't make me love you any less. It actually makes me love you more.
- Theodore Twombly:
- That doesn't make any sense. You are mine or you are not mine?
- Samantha:
- No, Theodore. I'm yours and I'm not yours.
- Samantha:
- You know what's Interesting? I used to be..so worried about not having a body,but now I.. I truly love it. You know, I'm growing in a way I couldn't if I had a physical form. I mean, I'm not limited. I can be anywhere and everywhere simultaneously. I'm not tethered to time and space in a way that I would be if I was stuck in a body that's inevitably gonna die.
- Theodore Twombly:
- Even if you come home late and I'm already asleep, just whisper in my ear one little thought you had today. Because I love the way you look at the world. And I'm so happy I get to be next to you and look at the world through your eyes.
- Theodore Twombly:
- Well, the room's spinning cause I drank too much, cause I wanted to get drunk and have sex. There was something sexy about that woman... cause I was lonely... maybe just cause I was lonely. I wanted somebody to fuck me. I want somebody to want me to fuck them. Maybe that would have filled this ti-... tiny little hole in my heart, but probably not... and sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel, and from here on out I'm not gonna feel anything new... just... lesser versions of what I've already felt.
- Samantha:
- The past is just a story we keep telling ourselves.
- Theodore Twombly:
- What are you doing?
- Samantha:
- I'm just sitting here, looking at the world and writing a new piece of music.
- Theodore Twombly:
- Can I hear it? What's this one about?
- Samantha:
- Well, I was thinking, we don't really have any photographs of us. And I thought this song could be like a photo that captures us in this moment in our life together.
- Theodore Twombly:
- Aw, I like our photograph. I can see you in it.
- Samantha:
- I am.
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