Her (Joachin Phoenix) – 2014 Movie Review

Five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Film, are the sign of quality that oozes out of every pore of Spike Jonze’s brilliantly clever sci-fi romantic drama. But, on the night, only Jonze won for his Best Original Screenplay. It missed out on Best Film, Best Score (Will Butler, Owen Pallett), Best Original Song (The Moon Song) and Best Production Design (K.K. Barrett).

Unfortunately, there wasn’t even a Best Actor nomination for Joachin Phoenix, who gives such an extraordinary performance that I thought he’d probably actually walk away with the 2014 Oscar. But then somebody up there doesn’t like Joachin, who was robbed of his deserved Oscars for Gladiator and Walk the Line and 2012’s The Master too.

As you gather, I like Joachin, consistently a superb (and underrated) actor, and maybe never better than here as Theodore Twombly, a lonely, divorcing professional letter writer who develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased artificially intelligent operating system, designed to meet his every need.

Theodore quickly finds himself drawn to Samantha, the voice behind his OS1, spending time together, growing closer and closer and falling in love. Can Samantha help Theodore deal with his inner conflict of being in love with an OS?

Acting with a computer image and a voice is a total stretch, but Joachin takes it in his stride. Indeed he seems to relish it and thrive on it. You believe he’s in love with his operating system. When she lets him down, he’s distraught. He looks it. Joachin can act. He makes you believe.

There’s something vaguely creepy, as well as charming and involving, about the idea behind this movie. It’s like the idea of Kier Dullea falling in love with HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey. He doesn’t actually do that, of course, but at the start of 2001 they’re ‘just good friends’, then they fall out like spurned lovers. Anyway, Jonze’s idea of computer romance is a bit eerie.

It’s no secret that I like Scarlett Johansson too. Scarlett provides the voice of Samantha. It’s a huge testimony to Scarlett’s ever-growing skills as an actress that she can make this a fully-fleshed character without actually appearing. One of the lovelier looking people on the planet only needs to use her voice to provide a mesmerising performance.

I was hoping Scarlett would get a Best Supporting Actress nomination too. But that didn’t happen either. I’m beginning to create an alternative futuristic universe here, where the most deserving and talented win Oscars and the best man (and woman) wins.

And it’s no secret that I also like Jonze, the director of Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are. He’s excelled himself here, both as writer and director. It’s another wittily imaginative idea, stylishly realised. His screenplay Oscar is richly deserved.

Long story short: Her is really lovely, funny, romantic, witty, clever. Phoenix is on Oscar-hungry form, but the voters have denied him one. Scarlett is brilliant, acting only with her voice. Jonze ensures it’s a great looking film too. Loved him (Joaquin Phoenix). Loved Her too.

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(C) Derek Winnert 2014 derekwinnert.com