Her Reviews

Un perdedor se enamora de la única chica que se fijaría en el, una robot y que al final lo deja por otro robot. Le doy puntos por comedia involuntaria. 4/10

Her focuses on the unique relationship between a lonely man named Theodore Twombly, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and an artificial intelligence named Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Director Spike Jonze has worked on critically-acclaimed artistic films in the past such as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Where the Wild Things Are. Spike Jonze has also worked on several music videos and even co-created Jackass. His filmography focuses on nuance filmmaking and storytelling that is perfectly exemplified in this film. Her could have easily have been a completely ridiculous film if it were not for the subtle ways that Spike Jonze directs the romance of this interesting relationship. The interactions between the characters seems genuine due to the terrific performances from great actors like Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, and Amy Adams. Even the brief appearances from Matt Letscher, Chris Pratt, and Rooney Mara manage to be memorable and engrossing.



Her takes place in the future but it is never directly addressed as such. Through subtle use of technology, hobbies, and environment, the film manages to establish the setting as a future period that could realistically occur in a couple of years. While Her does focus on science fiction elements like artificial intelligence and the distant future as its setting, this film is much more a romance film. While most romance films try to be schmaltzy and fantastical with a cliched storyline and uninteresting characters, this movie works in not only deconstructing the typical romance formula while also presenting a natural relationship between Theodore and Samantha. Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson really do excel in their roles, especially considering they do not actually physically interact during the movie. Phoenix’s shy and neurotic Theodore charmingly going with Scarlett’s curious and optimistic Samantha. It is not a easy-going romance they go through and it does not end completely peachy with these two but it is a romantic couple you support throughout the film.

Like the story, setting, and performances, the film score is also rather nuanced when it comes to its presentation. Unlike more acclaimed and recognized film composers like Hans Zimmer and John Williams, the film score was composed by the indie band Arcade Fire. This shows as there is no bombastic or epic moments in this soundtrack but rather soft sounds and chords that play to the scene more like background music. Even the Oscar-nominated “Moon Song” by Karen O presents a soft-spoken but deeply emotional work of music that really sets the scene its feature in as memorable, along with the memorably beautiful background that surrounds it.



The ideas that Her explores can allow different emotional and intellectual cinema experiences from different people. Some people could question elements from the film: whether the relationship between Theodore and Samantha is genuine? Is Samantha really breaking out of her established role? Should the advancement of artificial intelligence be seen as a positive or a negative feeling? If the relationship between Theodore and Samantha is not real, does that mean Theodore is still lonely? Will artificial intelligence eventually advance enough to replace humans as the dominant species of the planet? Does Theodore have a successful relationship after Samantha? The film addresses but never answers these questions, leaving the viewers to discuss, analyze, and explore their own answers while watching this fantastic one-of-a-kind movie. Her is subtle but emotionally effective in presenting a unique relationship that manages to question the validity of romance and human life.

“Innamorarsi è una cosa folle. È una forma di follia socialmente accettabile”
www.ilariapasqua.net/apps/blog/show/42977993-her-s-jonze-usa-2013-

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, at last, after being literally lost for so many years making 'Where the Wild Things Are', Spike Jonze was finally back and the end-result was once again pretty terrific (By the way, it's too bad he hasn't released anything new since then). Anyway, he basically made here a fascinating movie which worked on so many levels. First of all, I really liked the minimalistic style and the whole thing was visually really appealing but it went way beyond that. For example, it might sound crazy to have the main character fall in love with his operating system but in a world where we barely speak to our next-door neighbours and yet manage to have 3000 friends on Facebook or any other social platform or manage to have a deep relationship with someone living at the other side of the globe, are we really so far from this reality? Talking about reality, is the physical world much more significant than any virtual world? And what is the foundation of our relationships? Is it something really physical or is it in fact the interactions that we have with one and another? This movie went really deep into those questions without of course giving any answers but the process displayed was just mesmerizing. On top of that, it was just so refreshing to finally see a movie dealing with an advanced AI who didn't become homicidal at some point. It's so frustrating that, very often in science-fiction, something new or unknown is automatically handled as a threat. Finally, I shouldn't forget to mention that Joaquin Phoenix delivered here another hell of a one-man show but it was also quite might amazing what Scarlett Johansson managed to do only with her voice. Anyway, to conclude, it might be Spike Jonze's best movie so far, it is that good and it is definitely worth a look.

It's been a while since i had this movie, and i knew what it's about, so i was waiting for the right time to watch it, or the right mood, because i want to feel it and appreciate it, which what people should do before watching it, they have to come with the right mentality.

Mainly because it's more an experience than an actual movie, i mean you don't finish it and learn something or have a story to tell, no, you watch it and feel it and that's it, you may learn something, depending on the way you see things, but to me, it's more like a feeling than an actual story.
The most amazing thing was the atmosphere, from the very beginning, you can see that the movie looks very modern, it was mostly filmed in Shanghai - China and LA, and it worked very well, because the concept of the movie was about technology and artificial intelligence and how technology can effect people, you can actually see people in the streets walking alone and/or talking to their phones, along side with that was the beautiful music and the stylist camera work that made every frame looks amazing, it's a very unique look at people, it made everyone look beautiful, and there was a great amount of details about people clothing, although it wasn't fit for everybody, some people looked very awkward with these types of clothes but it was an impressive work nonetheless.

The casting was very good, Joaquin Phoenix delivered a performance filled with emotions, Scarlett Johansson was charming and had a unique voice that made it work perfectly, the movie did made me laugh, specially that video game character played by Spike Jonze was hilarious, but mostly it was a private viewing, and in a movie like this, you can see reviews that are very different and far from eachother, because it wasn't a performance that we all can agree about it being good or bad, instead it was a feeling, so what comes down to it is just matter of opinions, and even the enjoyability may vary, frankly i didn't feel it all, some scenes were off to me, like the sexual surrogate scene, made me really confused or the phone sex scene, but overall it was a masterful work and deserve a look.

The ending was predictable, because you don't expect a relationship like this to work for ever, but it was very surprising at the same time, i mean you don't expect a software designed by a corporate to leave you and go to make a relationship with an AI, i honestly was expecting Her to tell him that she's inlove with all the people she talks to because that would be her way to make people attached to her and hence making more profit to the company but how things evolved at the end seemed reasonable to me so i had no complaints.

Anyone who has seen past feature films from Spike Jonze, such as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, will notice that he is an unorthodox filmmaker with an auteurist style of expressing human fundamentals within usually a science-fiction, imaginative world. His latest science-fiction drama Her examines the true emotional, physical constitutions of humanity and it communicates with the audience at an intense rate with emotions flying everywhere. Not in a long time has there been a film with such emotional complexity that it doesn’t constitute a certain mood. Her also beautifully explores humanity’s current connection with technology and creates an argument as to whether it represents the future or is another sci-fi. Nevertheless, Her is a ground-breaker that easily makes it Spike Jonze’s best to date and one of the most wonderful and original films of the decade.


Besides the unorthodox story, Her distances itself from traditional Hollywood seen these days. Spike Jonze’s independent approach to not only his original script but to direction establishes Her as a film of narrative complexity. It is simple to describe the plot – a lonely man becomes romantically involved with his operating system, but on an emotional level, it is a whole lot more complicating and challenges that relationship in a variety of ways. It may seem odd on paper but technology is a vital part of our lives today and Theodore exemplifies that connection, even to go as far as fall in love with it. Jonze’s incredible script sends the audience into a maze of emotions with the bond between human and operating system slotting in moments of warmth, giggles, confusion, guilt and heartbreak. This is due to the complexity of the relationship being that of a normal human relationship yet one of the two is not even human. There’s even a lot of talk about wanting to be human which Jonze brilliantly, especially in the form of Scarlett Johansson, leaves us to imagine Samantha’s physical form for ourselves.


On that note, Her is also a wonderful visual spectacle. The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema is shot in a colourful tone that balances Los Angeles and it being in a science-fiction like world. It is particularly the use of various colours in medium and wide shots that exemplify this and illustrate a certain character’s mood. For example, the film’s recurring use of the colour red symbolises romance and love, which is noticed usually on the computing system, Theodore’s shirt or the filled lighting. Besides the colour red, Van Hoytema and Jonze utilize other glistening colouring within landscape shots and in medium shots that generate this unique world from Theodore’s perspective and to balance it between science-fiction setting and future Los Angeles. Nevertheless, Jonze’s direction and Van Hoytema’s cinematography is spectacular but it is underrated and deserved further recognition at the Oscars.


It has been a very wise and positive decision for Joaquin Phoenix to return to acting. After his memorable performance in The Master, he stars in what is quite possibly his most unique yet emotionally ground-breaking role to date as Theodore Twombly. He is one of those leading characters who have so much about him that he doesn’t know what direction he is heading into. His success as a city writer exemplifies signs of creativity and intelligence yet the contents of his work is about romance and relationships, which in this film is difficult for Theodore to maintain. Phoenix’s performance is an abundance of sentiments and that is difficult to sustain when playing a character. At times, his acting was funny, it was warm, it was difficult to interpret and it was heart-breaking, which is exactly how Jonze wrote and directed this character. Phoenix was unlucky to have not received an Oscar nomination but now that his return to acting is up and running, he may have his chance next time.


Alongside Joaquin Phoenix, we see a variety of female supporting characters who each give solid performances. Scarlett Johansson provides the voice of operating system Samantha. Her role is unique because she is perhaps the most human character in the film yet we only hear her voice and also, out of the other women we see in the film, Samantha could be the most sexually attractive character yet we do not see her on-screen. We only have to picture her for ourselves, hence why one particular sex scene between Samantha and Theodore is shot in complete darkness. Her relationship with Theodore is so strong that she seems to illustrate real human feelings whilst throughout the film, arguing to herself that they could still be operated. The audience become involved in their bond and at times, we seem to forget that she is a computer. So we become part of inside Theodore’s mind, perhaps like Craig and Lotte in Being John Malkovich. Scarlett Johansson has not been so engaging in a role until Samantha in Her and like Phoenix, she should have received an Oscar nomination for her performance and has become influential to the idea that acting is not entirely about figural expressions. Meanwhile, Amy Adams and Rooney Mara make good appearances in the other two women in Theodore’s life, both of whom are human – Catherine (Mara) is his ex-wife and Amy (Adams) as his close friend. Together, this ensemble cast reflect the uniqueness of Jonze’s script and direction to create something extraordinary, heartfelt and thought-provoking.


Her is truly one of a kind. Its unique and simple idea on paper of a human-computer relationship embarks you into a gripping emotional ride for two hours. It convincingly portrays humanity’s relationship with technology and how it affects our minds. In fact, the film is complex in itself with genre as to whether it is a science-fiction story inside someone’s mind or if this could be our future in years to come. That is how a film truly should conclude – to make its audience think and reflect on things, whether in the past, present or future. Her certainly does argue this conspiracy and it still could be possible with technology developing. Nevertheless as a film, Her is a genuine, compelling and emotionally powerful masterpiece that could very well be the greatest of 2013 and a strong contender for the best film of the 2010s.

I love this director's all the movies. If you check them out you would do same as me. Because his movies were not based on usual concepts, that something immensely varying from each others. Sadly, he's not consistent in filmmaking, he does take large gaps between the movies otherwise he would have been one of the most talked director in Hollywood beside other giants. The fact is I did not know it was his till I decided to watch and that made so curious towards the time I going to spend for it.

Joaquin Phoenix was spot on in the movie. Man, I still remember him in the movie 'Gladiator' where he appeared in a dark shade. I was only so young and I hated him in that role. Now everything has changed, in the last few years he's coming stronger, especially after 'Walk the Line' and 'The Master' which gave him the Oscar node. He's famous for his unique display of the roles in his all the movies and this movie is not too far from another top notch performance. Yeah, way to go Joaquin Phoenix.

This movie dealt with one of the rare subjects that set in the 2025. We don't know how will be the future look like, but the director created remarkable fictional world and inserted equally outstanding character(s). This was the story of a man called Theodore, a loner and a professional letter writer. One day he decides to buy the newly released operating system with artificial intelligence. He begins to encounter the life changing experience and instantly fall in love with it. In the world of reality it is impossible to have a physical relationship with an AI, so how far it goes and ends is explained in the movie's death.

Absolutely an extraordinary concept, but the only thing that did not stand up to my expectation was the story. It was predictable, but the scenes created for those stories were finely patched throughout. Really, it amazed me. Makes me happy that it won for 'original screenplay' at the Oscars. I know it was too late that I am seeing it, actually I'd seen all the Oscars movies of the year except this one and now everything was done and dusted. So I have to wait for another 6 months for another shot. Between that guess the movies that's going to have a chance for the upcoming Oscars. As for this movie's concern, it is not a missable. So recommend it, if you have not checked it out do it as soon as possible. Cheers!

I’m not really sure what to call Her: is it science-fiction? A drama? A romantic comedy? Some strange combination of the three? Her is a film which stares at genre titles and conventions and has a good laugh in their face. Of course, this movie sprung from the mind of Spike Jonze, that strangely soulful cinematic poet who explored the fractured humanity of a little boy in Where the Wild Things Are, gave us the strange fever-dream Being John Malkovich, and blessed the world with the darkly comic and deeply odd Adaptation. There isn’t a contemporary that it could have possibly sprung forth from, only from the deliciously inventive imagination of Jonze.

Here is a film that takes the strangeness of online dating, social media, and friendships which exist purely through the computer screen and examines them from several different angles. It doesn’t take much to see the heart and soul beneath the polished surfaces, and the world of the film feels both strangely familiar and like worn in fantasy. We believable that this world is entirely plausible, and that in a few more years, the world of Her could easily be the real world outside of the cinema.

I didn’t think that a movie about a man falling in love with a piece of software would be so touching to me going in, but I left having felt something deeply about the human condition. Once more, Joaquin Phoenix gives a complex performance in what has slowly emerged as my favorite movie of the year. Last year, it was his animalistic portrayal of a broken man in Paul Thomas Anderson’s hypnotic character study The Master. Here is another broken man, but this one is on the cusp of healing and changing for the better.

Phoenix plays Theodore, a man who makes his living penning vividly detailed, poignant, touching, and emotional honesty letters for people based on the most basic of details his clients have given him. The irony in all of this is that his character finds it easier to express emotions for other people, or behind the veil of technology and screen names, than he does for himself. He’s in the final stages of a divorce (Rooney Mara in a small role, but one that proves she’s an actress for picking daring subject matter and nailing the nuance of a scene), but cannot bring himself to sign off on the divorce papers. Into his life comes the software that will learn-and-grow along with him, a computer operating system that will help him get his life in order and reestablish his emotional footing.

We’re already dealing with some delicate and emotional material based purely on the set-up, and Jonze keeps that momentum up as the story unfolds. Trying to get back into the dating world is a disaster, his best friends end their marriage, and he slowly begins to fall in love with his operating system, Samantha (voiced to perfection by Scarlett Johnansson). Again, I know all of this sounds incredibly strange, and maybe it is and I’m just very weird, but I found it easy to empathize with Theodore’s confusion and emotional loneliness. Her takes a solid look at the evolving nature of relationships – the growth, decay, and the struggles to pick up the pieces and move on – not just romantic, but the relationships we have with ourselves and our friends.

I don’t know what kind of alchemy Jonze performs to get such tender yet quirky performances out of his actors, but god I do love him for it. Phoenix’s range is a marvel. Just comparing his performance in The Master to this is enough to let you know he’s one of our great working actors. From the adventure-seeking, death-defying, pure id of Freddie in one film, to suddenly turn around and be introspective, quiet, then bloom into a happier, more extroverted person is the wonder of a great artist doing their magic. Amy Adams plays his supportive best friend, herself a recent victim of a broken relationship and its devastating aftermath. My god, look at Adams’s work within the past year: tough and spunky as Lois Lane in Man of Steel, sexy and scheming in American Hustle (a career-high in a career full of great performances), and here as a supportive, nonjudgmental, open-hearted woman. That is a great amount of range.

No less terrific in smaller roles are Rooney Mara as Theodore’s ex-wife, who appears winsome and waif-like in the flashbacks to happier times in their relationship, before appearing freaked out and passive-aggressive about learning of Theodore’s relationship to Samantha, and Olivia Wilde as a blind date gone horribly wrong. She appears as a blond goddess, but quickly descends into a strange mixture of ugly neediness and desperation for emotional stability. Bill Hader, Brian Cox and Kristen Wiig make vocal cameos are various callers in on-line sex chats and operating systems. Wiig’s bit is especially twisted and hilarious, and I won’t dare spoil the good fun of it.

And now we must talk about Johansson’s vocal performance of Samantha. A lot was written about how she’s deserving of recognition in the supporting actress field during awards season. I agree. Voice acting, when truly done right and not the lazy celebrity vocal work of say DreamWorks films, can hit you just as well as seeing a real person emote. And the development of Samantha, from standoffish automaton to inquisitively soaking up knowledge to developing at a rate beyond comprehension, offers Johansson a chance to stretch her vocal muscles. Without a Samantha we could believe in, Her would fail, thrown onto the pyre of well-intentioned but disastrous exercises.

At the end of Her I walked away feeling like this film was truly pushing onto the idea that our love affair with the newest and latest technology was about more than just finding new, expensive ways to partake in conspicuous consumption and waste time. These machines are simultaneously bringing us together and apart, and just reinforces the notion that while we may enjoy being alone, none of us want to be lonely.

This was so bad I don’t even know where to begin. The entire plot is ridiculous; the characters are even worse. It says nothing new about relationships I haven't heard (or seen) before. Everything about the concept should be interesting, but it's actually boring.