It's been more than a week since I saw Her in the movie theatre. No, no, not her, but "Her" the movie starring Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, a guy who has fallen in love with his digital personal organizer. The film is written and directed by Spike Jonze. This was science fiction and a love story and has received Oscar nominations, best original screenplay and best picture being the most of the important ones. I'm still trying to process it.
As I left the theatre, I thought about Sophia Coppola's Lost In Translation. Is this Jonze's riposte to his ex-wife? Maybe. It plays like it, and if you've see the both of them back to back, it would seem to be. But to think of this film destracts from the the film itself. You've got to divorce the two to see what Jonze was trying to accomplish. That pun is intended.
I think the central conceit of the movie is that the heart is mysterious and you love whomever or whatever you love. Fact: it was no big deal for Twombly to fall in love with an OS. There were others who have, and Amy Adam's created an intimate relationship with one also. In the future, you'll find love in many other places. No one cares if you fall in love with an OS. It happens.
Now was Twombly looking for a relationship he could control or as his ex-wife said a perfect simulation of a wife? Can't be judgmental here. We do get their history from his perspective. It seems he was faithful and caring; cold and distant and judging not so much. He was supportive; It felt like they fell out of love. Was her success too much for him? Maybe, but they don't get too deep into it.
They love. Then they don't love. It is a mystery of the heart.
What was most bothersome about the movie is how it ends. Spoilers if you don't want to know. It ends with a "Thanks for the fishes" moment, which was perplexing. It's the least talked about aspect of the film, but the most interesting. I was thinking about how it would end. I was expecting a "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" style disconnecting. It happened, but then the complicated return and subsequent leave made the film rushed. I felt like sitting alongside Twombly to piece it all together. Yeah, I'm still thinking about it.
4 of 5 stars.
As I left the theatre, I thought about Sophia Coppola's Lost In Translation. Is this Jonze's riposte to his ex-wife? Maybe. It plays like it, and if you've see the both of them back to back, it would seem to be. But to think of this film destracts from the the film itself. You've got to divorce the two to see what Jonze was trying to accomplish. That pun is intended.
I think the central conceit of the movie is that the heart is mysterious and you love whomever or whatever you love. Fact: it was no big deal for Twombly to fall in love with an OS. There were others who have, and Amy Adam's created an intimate relationship with one also. In the future, you'll find love in many other places. No one cares if you fall in love with an OS. It happens.
Now was Twombly looking for a relationship he could control or as his ex-wife said a perfect simulation of a wife? Can't be judgmental here. We do get their history from his perspective. It seems he was faithful and caring; cold and distant and judging not so much. He was supportive; It felt like they fell out of love. Was her success too much for him? Maybe, but they don't get too deep into it.
They love. Then they don't love. It is a mystery of the heart.
What was most bothersome about the movie is how it ends. Spoilers if you don't want to know. It ends with a "Thanks for the fishes" moment, which was perplexing. It's the least talked about aspect of the film, but the most interesting. I was thinking about how it would end. I was expecting a "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" style disconnecting. It happened, but then the complicated return and subsequent leave made the film rushed. I felt like sitting alongside Twombly to piece it all together. Yeah, I'm still thinking about it.
4 of 5 stars.