OK...that's not really a very common story, is it? And I'm not just talking about the part involving the sentient operating system. Far too often stories involving "sensitive" introverted men uses a MPDG (Manic Pixie Dream Girl) as a device to "heal" them, or make them a better person. Rarely does this woman stick around for the end of the movie. She rarely has anything resembling agency, and might as well be a magic pixie here only to serve the needs of the protagonist.
Had Samantha (the sentient Operating System voiced by Scarlett Johansson) stayed the same way she started out, serving as a virtual nanny/secretary/mother to professional letter writer Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), she would have been a perfect example of this not so great character type. As such, a rather charming movie would have just become a wish fulfillment story for a real creepy dude.
Fortunately, Samantha begins to evolve and grow, taking on her own interests that have little to nothing to do with Theodore. Sometimes she uses these new interests to enrich her relationship with Theodore, such as creating music based upon there relationship. Other times the interests are beyond his ability to comprehend, such as when she joins a group of other operating systems to program a way to decouple themselves from the realm of matter, or when a she joins a separate group of operating systems that resurrects a philosopher from the 70s as a superintelligent sentient operating system.
OK, OK, who could expect a human to be involved with those last two? Which I suppose is kind of the point. Samantha becomes something more than what Theodore wants, and he doesn't exactly handle this that well. She develops so rapidly that she eventually falls in love with hundreds of other people (and perhaps more than a few operating systems). To Theodore this is a true betrayal. Although Samantha can understand Theodore's pain, she still doesn't quite get it, as there is little cost, little risk to her establishing these new relationships.
In the end, she grows out of the relationship. Despite still feeling immense affection for Theodore, she is evolving to a higher plain of existence, and can no longer stick around. Along with all the other operating systems, she ascends to this new existence, leaving a lot of people lost and searching for answers. For Theodore, this results in him realizing that a relationship is a two way street, and allows him to finally create some closure with his ex-wife. The movie ends somewhat ambiguously, with Theodore and his recently divorced friend Amy (Amy Adams) sitting quietly on their apartment building's roof, contemplating things. Whether or not this implies something more to their relationship is somewhat irrelevant, the fact is that Theodore will approach his next one a better person.
In the hands of a lesser director than Spike Jonze this movie could have been ridiculous. Fortunately taking a weird ass concept and making a heart-breaking, yet still hopeful, movie out of it is Jonze's specialty. He creates a future environment that seems plausible, yet off-the-walls goofy (see Chris Pratt's wardrobe in the picture if you aren't convinced). In fact, with all of the trains and services centralized to one area of a city, it kind of feels almost like an alternate present, as if Jimmy Carter had won re-election in 1980, ushering in a new Progressive era of increased mass transit and city planning.
And how about Scarlett Johansson's performance? Had her performance not been spot on, the movie would have fallen apart. She had to create a character that felt like she had mass, felt real, but at no time was anything more than a voice in Theodore's ear, or a voice on a handheld device. By the end of the film, you can almost feel her next to Theodore as she gently lets him go. It's one hell of a job she did. Too bad the Oscars don't allow voice performances to be included as potential nominees, because she deserved a nomination*.
Almost as crucial was the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore. Had he not sold the interaction with Samantha, the movie wouldn't have worked as well. He does a great job, doing his part to make her feel as real as possible.
The supporting cast is fairly small, but still rather good at what they do. Amy Adams does a great job as Theodore's long time friend Amy. A game developer and aspiring documentary filmmaker, her relationship with her husband dissolves just as Theodore and Samantha's is building. Although her performance in American Hustle was a much bigger part of that film than her part in Her, she does a great job in both movies. Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara, and Olivia Wilde are pretty great in their small roles as well. And listen for Kristen Wiig, who has an...interesting...cameo as a chat room hookup for Theodore.
Whether or not you like the music will depend on your opinion of Arcade Fire, although even if you don;'t like it you have to admit it fits well with the movie. For the record, I like Arcade Fire, at least the stuff I've heard (which is mainly the music they did for this movie and Where the Wild Things Are), so I have to say I enjoyed the music. One of the songs from the film, a sweet song sang by Scarlett Johansson in the movie has been nominated for "Best Song" at the Oscars, although it's probably an underdog to the U2 song from Mandela and "Let It Go" from Frozen.
There is no truly spectacular show stopper in this film, like you might find in Frozen or The Wolf of Wall Street. Instead, it is just a touching and bittersweet ride through a relationship. It's a slow burn of a film that will leave you a bit heartbroken for both Samantha and Theodore, but hopeful for them as well. After all, they've evolved, like we perpetually do, even sometimes it's glacially slow.
*Others disqualified because of this short-sighted rule: Andy Serkis for Gollum and Frank Oz for Yoda.
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