Movie Review: Her

Her
Directed by: Spike Jonze 
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson

Rating: B-

I had a romantic type idea of this movie. No, I didn't necessarily think it would be about an epic romance, but I thought it would be more fluid and moving and less jarring. I am not a fan of swearing, especially unnecessary and excessive foul language. I felt this movie had many scenes of this sort early on. The moments made me uncomfortable as they didn't seem natural to the tone of the conversation or  body language cues. Perhaps I was supposed to feel uncomfortable for the main character as he muddled through his life having internet chat room sex with randoms. I'm not sure on the intent, but the script did not showcase compelling writing.

This movie explores a very interesting concept, relationships with technology. As our society becomes more connected and more devices are designed to help us function it is inevitable that a personal assistant type of aid would need to become intuitive. This intuitive design could then have the capability to take on human like qualities and one could develop a parasocial relationship. Sure, there is another party interacting, but that entity is not able to interact on an independent level. The movie questions whether this type of relationship is healthy, if it is necessary, and if it is just as real as an interaction in a person-to-person relationship. This social study is intriguing.

While I had fundamental problems with this movie, the complexity of the issue at the heart of this movie compelled me to reconsider my rating. I was tempted to slap on an unfavorable mark, but upon further consideration of the whole movie I give it a B-. Perhaps most viewers aren't as bothered by the language or they value the progression of the characters in the movie as the awkwardness fades. This movie has received much buzz, still I will not be driving any of those conversations. The specifics of this movie are ultimately forgettable.