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Her
Plot (Spoiler Alert)Theodore is a brilliant writer who is going through a difficult divorce with Catherine, his childhood sweetheart. He feels lonely and sad. He decides to purchase an artificially intelligent operating system from OS1 that can be understanding. She calls herself Samantha. Theodore goes on a date set up by friends of his, but it doesn't go so well in the end. Theodore is feeling down in the dumps and talks to Samantha about how he’s feeling. Samantha asks him what it’s like to be in love with someone and he tells her. Theodore and Samantha start to feel something for each other and have a romantic relationship together. 
Blaine: I already thought it was hilarious during the first twenty minutes and then it felt personal and touching as it went on. The story is genius and I find it amazing that Spike Jonze thought of a story that shows how romantic relationships can work and how dramatic they can be sometimes. He also was able to put in comedy, sci-fi and emotion all into this film. Joaquin Phoenix brings a lot of emotion into this character whether he's happy or sad. I also love the emotion he showed through his eyes. Joaquin didn’t have any trouble talking to somebody who wasn’t physically there because when you’re an actor you do a lot of rehearsing by yourself. The idea came to Spike Jonze through an article he saw online where a user could instant message with an artificial intelligence and then as time passed he thought of an idea of a man having a relationship with an entity like that and then he decided to make it into a love story. Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Let the Right One In & Interstellar) shows a lot of color in his shots. The beach shots were blown out, meaning overexposed and kind of flared. Hoyte felt that blue was an association of the sci-fi genre. Some of Hoyte’s inspiration came from the work of Japanese photographer, Rinko Kawauchi. The filming locations used were Los Angeles and Shanghai but they are supposed to be one place in the film. The idea was to make this futuristic L.A. that felt nice to live in. Originally Samantha, the computer, was supposed to be Samantha Morton, but when Spike Jonze got into the editing room, he realized she wasn’t right and Scarlett Johansson replaced her shortly after. Spike did say that Samantha Morton was great, but it wasn't till the movie was in post production that he realized he needed something different from what Samantha Morton and he created together. It was an isolated experience for Scarlett Johansson after she was hired with developing the character with Spike and figuring what was working and not working and what he felt the relationship was missing or needed. Scarlett said she was excited for Spike because “Her” was something he has been working on for years and it’s extremely personal because it’s the first feature he had written. Amy Adams was already interested in the project before she read the script because she wanted to work with Spike Jonze. I think she was offered to be in another one of his movies, but she was busy, had a baby and didn’t have the energy to make a film at the time, but she knew the next time Spike Jonze afford her a part she would accept it. Rooney Mara had met with Spike and he wasn’t sure if she was right for the role of Theodore’s ex, Catherine, because he thought she might be too young, but she had read the script and thought it was so beautiful and powerful, so she had to audition for Spike at his apartment and Spike said her internal strength was meaning less and so she got the part. I love watching those flashback scenes with Theodore and his wife, Catherine, while they were still together because they look like they had so much fun with their relationship and they loved each other very much. They looked happy because what they had was special and gives me a special feeling inside while watching those scenes. It's sad that a relationship like that had to end for them. Olivia Wilde loved the script and she loved that her supporting role was another piece of the puzzle Spike Jonze needed and she wanted to know what she needed to do in order to serve the story and to make it complete for Theodore to bounce off of Olivia’s character to fall in love with Samantha. Olivia thought it was interesting of the experience that pushes him into this romantic relationship and it was amazing for her to go to China and hang out with the people she got to work with. My rating on “Her” is five out of five stars. Music Song: The Moon Song Artist: Karen O Song: Supersymmetry Artist: Arcade Fire Her Cinematography Shots on Page 2 |