MYST #2: Her

When I first saw the trailer for Her, I was intrigued by how bizarre the premise was.  To add to confusion the trailer isn't strikingly funny but romantic and serious. So I wanted to watch it because it was out of my comfort zone and, like most people, expected to be alienated rather then emotionally invested in the character(s).

Her essentially tells the story of a professional love letter writer, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), and his lonely struggle to cope with his pending divorce. No longer social or happy, he spends his day writing passionate letters, but then has no one to give his own to, as he goes home to his lonely routine. One day, he buys the newest operating system, which has the ability to evolve and learn both to serve the user and to create a real personality which manages your life and questions, like a human secretary. Theodore happens to choose a female voice, and ultimately, as the trailer shows, falls in love. He does not originally struggle to accept his love for an abstract object. He struggles with his own real issues of his divorce and what he wants, as well as the long term social and physical limitations of loving something that only truly exists as sound.

The picture above is of the couple. Samantha only ever seen as a phone and an earpiece, the presentation of their interactions is unique. There are no over the shoulder shots of their interaction as with everyone else in the film, but rather images of Joaquin interacting with his surroundings. Often, Samantha is represented by what he looks at. When Samantha's knowledge and feelings consume him, he views big beautiful skylines and nature, which we are lead to believe represent her. On the other hand, when they struggle to manage a relationship so personal yet distant, Samantha is a small dark phone in an empty room, or the absence of a physical being all together. 

As the sole subject of many shots, Joaquin needed to stand out from a world full of color and light. To do this, he was often placed in the foreground of shots wearing extremely vibrant tones of red. It almost looks like a laundry detergent commercial at times, when his clothes are so red they make the surrounding colors seem strictly gray. However, when he's upset, color surrounds him but he is the dullest tone in the frame. And everyone's pants are way too high but I have no clue why. 

The music in the movie has almost a complete absence of word. The main style switches between peaceful electronic and artificial music contributing to the future feel, while being warm. The other is light with a piano, which Samantha writes and then plays for Joaquin to fit the dates they go on and the experiences they have. As the movie addresses, he just looks like a crazy creep spinning in circles in public and laying on the beach alone and talking to the ocean. The only song in the movie with meaningful words is sung by Samantha as Joaquin experiences life physically alone, but with Samantha in his earpiece and to him, right next to him. It is below.

To my surprise, the movie was extremely funny at times. The humor was blunt and realistic, and didn't take away from the believability of the characters as it does in a movie like Adam Sandler does, ruining the interest the audience has in his emotions. 

The movie comes down to what a relationship really is and needs to be. Tons of questions arise and are purposely left unaddressed. Some people in this future American city see the relationship as healthy, while  others see it as childish and non confrontational. The movie portrays no successful human relationships or marriages, and the struggles of our couple are often universal statements rather than just those of a man dating a phone. Samantha happens to have a female voice which maybe be a statement about our perceptions considering nothing makes "her" female. Love is fun but not lasting in many cases in the movie, and the viewer is meant to feel discomfort from many interactions in the film.

Overall, this movie earns 4/5 iPhone 5c's, because it's surprisingly warm and believable love story that I found myself very invested in. Additionally, its visually pleasing and creatively presented.