Her

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT?


Last Saturday, Elizabeth and I went and saw Her at the Esquire. See. Look at us.

We are best friends.

This was a totally pre-planned Saturday night activity, and we just so happen to be lucky enough to get extra credit.  Sweet.

So, first of all, I feel I should get all of my emotions about Spike Jonze out of the way. SO MANY FEEL GOODS. 

Also, I need to get my emotions out of the way for Scarlett Johansson. DYING EVERYWHERE WITH FEEL GOODS.

Then there's Rooney Mara, Rooney Mara, Rooney Mara, Rooney Mara.

And, last (and least), I also have lots of feel goods for Joaquin Phoenix (that 'stache, though/ those pants, though).

Her was so good.  I enjoyed every part of it.  The awkward pants and cat porn, the overly saturated urbanscapes, the empty bookshelves, the tea bag. Spike Jonze is seriously my hero.  

I came out of the theatre with my mind tangled up like limp spaghetti and I still don't even know where to begin other than I am never seeing another Jonze movie in theatres ever again.  I needed to be in the comfort of my own messy apartment to fully absorb everything.  I want to watch it again and again. 

The irony between how real the relationship between Theodore and Samantha, his operating system, was unbearable and so uncanny in regards to the relationships we have online, both with each other and with ourselves.  This movie was able to take a critical look at the nature of our relationships.  By comparing Theodore's failed relationship with his human companion and his relationship with his OS, Jonze was able to allow us to understand the importance of human interaction and question the role that technology plays in our own relationships (this was also pointed out with Theodore's job of writing "Hand Written Letters").  The ridiculousness of the "dates" that Theodore and Samantha went on were emphasized by the overly exposed days and the flashy lights of the night, while the flashbacks of moments between Theodore and his ex-wife seemed so real.  You could feel the tension between them.  

The scene where Theodore and Catherine were having an argument (about money, maybe? I am too enthralled with the visuals of the scene to remember the relevance of the fight) seemed so incredibly familiar.  Everything about the scene could have been a moment from anyone's past.  Theodore wore stark white boxer shorts that were cocked a bit to the side and Catherine drank hot tea from a ceramic glass and the tea bag hung loosely over the edge of the cup.  The tension in the room was so strong and the situation so perfectly realistic. 

The film also raises strong questions about our ability to perceive information, our rate of perception, and the value we place on that information, or, rather, knowledge.  By enabling us to feel inferior in capacity to the OS and their ability to access information within milliseconds, Jonze makes us question our intelligence as a species and the roles that our technology plays as an aid or a hindrance on our quest to become better at literally everything.  

Something in the movie that made me particularly anxious was Theodore's apartment.  There was so much emphasis put on his devices (computer, video game, cell phone) and outside of his virtual reality his life was completely bare.  I understand that the scarcity was meant to aid in the development of his character, to show that he was just barely existing as a human being and functioning with the least amount of social interaction.  I found it incredibly disturbing that he had an entire wall of bookshelves, but not one book.  I don't think that it is old fashioned to believe in the power of a good book, nor is it old fashioned to rely on the knowledge of print.  I think that Jonze was showing how little the future masses will rely on the archive of knowledge that we can access through physical existence.  Books will become clutter because all the knowledge we need can be found through our OS.  The reason I found this disturbing, was because in the end of the film (WARNING MINOR SPOILER ALERT), the OS's became unreliable.  We (future us) put all our eggs in one basket.  We occupied our minds with too many unreasonable and unnecessary things (video games) and relied on some unseen power for real knowledge.  Our ability to archive thoughts, memories, ideas, knowledge is decreasing with the increased use of technology as a crutch.  

I can't go on anymore, I'm starting to get frustrated with how much we suck at life.  

Her was amazing. Go see it. THE END.