Seriously, Sex With Your OS (Operating System)?

Jonze has created another profound piece, once again placing him in the genius category of his genre. Although Her takes place in a future Los Angeles, it’s imaginative concept is completely credible and convincing, considering how technology has infiltrated our every waking moment.

As discussed in several recent articles, cyberspace has impeded interpersonal communication, increasing isolation and loneliness. Instead of bringing people together, the digital age has produced an epidemic of physical and emotional distance and separation, leaving the practice of relating face to face a lost cause.

Jonze’s brilliant work of art depicts existential despair and desperation, especially evident in our city where a majority of time is spent in cars and cubicles, rather than communing on the streets and attempting to connect with friends and neighbors.

Joaquin Phoenix, at the top of his game, is utterly compelling in the lead role, displaying the epitome of relationship angst and torment. He’s magnetic and mesmerizing, commanding the screen from beginning to end. A powerful, perfect, hypnotic performance, Phoenix’s portrayal will linger in your mind for days, as you contemplate the real possibility of the film’s hypothesis.

Joaquin transforms magnificently into a character longing to be understood and accepted unconditionally. He exhibits the intense, inherent yearning for deep love and affection with a partner who won’t judge him, with whom he can be 100% honest and free.  He craves a union without the onus of having to change or morph into a mate’s fantasy.  

Scarlett Johansson, albeit never seen on the screen, is enchanting, exceptional, and astonishing, as the voice of the OS (operating system). Amy Adams is enthralling as always. Olivia Wilde and Rooney Mara are captivating in supporting parts. The music by Arcade Fire is superb and you’ll appreciate the group’s talent in a whole new light.    

To give further details would dispel the delight, charm, and wonder. Suffice it to say, Her is simply sheer, superb cleverness, and out of this world (pun intended) ingenuity.

Thanks to the amazing AFI Film Festival, I was able to experience the awe of Jonze in an up close and personal Q & A following a special screening of Her.  I would’ve never imagined that right in our own backyard was a cool, classy, chic film festival in the vein of Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, Telluride, Venice, or NY.  What a pleasant surprise that the event exceeded my expectations with a highly competitive affair.