Her (2013)

A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system that's designed to meet his every need.

Director:

Spike Jonze

Writer:

Spike Jonze

Stars:

Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson

Top 250 #230 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 79 wins & 94 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Theodore
Lynn Adrianna	...	Letter Writer #1
Lisa Renee Pitts	...	Letter Writer #2
Gabe Gomez	...	Letter Writer #3
Chris Pratt	...	Paul
Artt Butler	...	Text Voice (voice)
May Lindstrom	...	Sexy Pregnant TV Star
Rooney Mara	...	Catherine
Bill Hader	...	Chat Room Friend #2 (voice)
Kristen Wiig	...	SexyKitten (voice)
Brian Johnson	...	OS1 Commercial Lead
Scarlett Johansson	...	Samantha (voice)
Amy Adams	...	Amy
Matt Letscher	...	Charles
Spike Jonze	...	Alien Child (voice) (as Adam Spiegel)

Storyline

Theodore is a lonely man in the final stages of his divorce. When he's not working as a letter writer, his down time is spent playing video games and occasionally hanging out with friends. He decides to purchase the new OS1, which is advertised as the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, "It's not just an operating system, it's a consciousness," the ad states. Theodore quickly finds himself drawn in with Samantha, the voice behind his OS1. As they start spending time together they grow closer and closer and eventually find themselves in love. Having fallen in love with his OS, Theodore finds himself dealing with feelings of both great joy and doubt. As an OS, Samantha has powerful intelligence that she uses to help Theodore in ways others hadn't, but how does she help him deal with his inner conflict of being in love with an OS?

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Plot Keywords:

future | operating system | friend | computer | letter | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 2014 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Elle

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$260,382 (USA) (20 December 2013)

Gross:

$25,556,065 (USA) (11 April 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Annapurna Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the only movie Spike Jonze has written as well as directed, completely from his own original script.

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Goofs

When Theodore is walking through the plaza, from his view we see an older Asian man is just about to pass him on his right, but then in the next shot from the other direction, no such man passes him.

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Quotes

Samantha: How do you share your life with somebody?
Theodore: Well, we grew up together and I used to read all of her writing and through her Masters and PhD. She read every word I ever wrote. We were a big influence on each other.
Samantha: In what way did you influence her?
Theodore: She came from a background where nothing was ever good enough. And that was something that weighed heavy on her. But in our house together, it was a sense of just trying stuff and allowing each other to fail and to be excited about things. That was ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

"Steve Zissis....... New Sweet Boyfriend of Mother Who Dated Pricks"

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Connections

Featured in 19th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards (2014)

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Soundtracks

Magnesium
Written by Sam Spiegel and Rusty Logsdon
Performed by N.A.S.A.
Courtesy of Spectrophonic Sound

User Reviews

Her is Spike Jonze's finest film yet

I've been a fan of Spike Jonze's films since I first saw Being John Malkovich. Although the wonderful script deserves some of the credit for making that film so great, it was immediately clear to me that Spike Jonze was a director with a fresh and imaginative perspective. His next film, the 2002 meta-comedy Adaptation, confirmed this with its dry wit and multilayered narrative. Now, after a slightly less successful (but still enjoyable) adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze has written and directed his most complete and poignant film yet, Her.

The story, taking place in a near future when people spend more time talking to their computers than they do to each other, stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, a lonely man whose job is to write heartfelt personal letters for people not willing to do it themselves. Theodore happens to see an ad for a new computer operating system that is programmed with a personality, and decides to give it a shot. His new operating system Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, is not only intelligent but also charming and understanding, and she and Theo quickly fall in love.

It's understandable if that premise sounds bizarre on paper, but in execution Her is far more sweet than creepy. The film radiates warmth and intelligence, and there is a fair amount of witty humor to ensure that it never becomes too self-serious. It has an engaging style similar to that of Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation. Like in that film, there's a certain poetic yet whimsical quality to the dialogue in Her and both the main characters are plagued by feelings of loneliness.

Beyond the romance though, Her has a lot to say about modern society's obsession with technology. The people in this futuristic vision of Los Angeles walk around talking to their computers and ignoring each other entirely, not unlike people today staring at their cell phones rather than talking to those around them. Needless to say it's not a wildly original message, but it's communicated in a unique enough way that it works.

I've seen Her twice now, and the more I think about it the more I feel that Spike Jonze has crafted the best film of 2013. Her is equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, a deeply personal and thoroughly enjoyable futuristic love story.