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Even though it’s pretty predictable, I’m afraid I have to say it, Spike Jonze has redefined the romantic film genre for the 21st century, with a combination of sci-fi, comedy and romance that completely disobeyed the rules. There’s a reason why this film was the favourite of the world and his wife in 2013. Her felt like a refreshing regeneration of a much played out genre, that Hollywood has spun for so many years. The feel of this film was a sweet amalgamation of gentleness, intrigue and warmth. It was laden with charm, from beginning to end.
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As a director, Spike Jonze has an impressive back catalogue, he’s directed videos for Icelandic songstress Björk, Fatboy Slim and Weezer, he was also co-creator and executive producer of the notorious MTV series Jackass. So it’s surprising that Her, his first solo-screenplay, revolved around such an emotional subject.
Jonze is indeed a dark horse, not only was Her an emotional treat, but the narrative was cleverly constructed, revolving around the unhappy introvert Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and his burgeoning relationship with an emotionally and psychologically astute computer operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), as he tries to cope with desbondancy and heart break.
I felt a great deal of warmth for Theodore, he’s a good soul who’s down on his luck, romantically he’s experiencing his very own fall of the Roman Empire moment, with his childhood sweetheart Catherine (played by Rooney Mara) commencing divorce proceedings. The bitter irony is, he works as a writer for a company that composes heartfelt love letters for those unable to do so themselves.
The faceless OS, called Samantha, is the one thing in Theodore’s life that gives him hope, Samantha gives him a sense of unconditional love that he has lost in this cruel and obnoxious world. I, like everyone else, found myself conjuring up so many images of what this Samantha would look like.
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Spike Jonze by Brigitte Lacombe
So, to give you a rundown, here is why Spike Jonze’ Her deserved the attention it got. Now there are three ingrediants that went into creating this cinematic alchemy – cinematography, which I will happily say proved the chief ingrediant – soundtrack, which featured Arcade Fire, Karen O of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, who injected a bit of indie magic, and finally – direction, which wrapped narrative, dialogue and all other elements into a very stylish package.
Cinematography
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It was a stroke of genius getting Hoyte van Hoytema, the Swiss born cinematographer, on board, the careful eye he cast over each scene was the crowning glory of Her, with shifting moods van Hoytema went with the flow, with delicate hues shifting to sunsplashed tones, that makes the picture smoulder like an Autumn bonfire.
During Theodore’s most emotive moments, van Hoytema’s close ups capture the raw energy perfectly. Phoenix is an impeccable actor, who delivers a sense dignity that few of his peers can, and van Hoytema clearly understands this, shining the spotlight just at the right moments.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be the make or break element of a film, and I think Jonze knew this, that’s why he collected together some of the most brilliant musical talent the indie scene has to offer. With Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett taking the lead, the soundtrack was the harness, clarifying each scene. The blissful sounds of “The Moon Song” by Karen O and Ezra Koenig for example captured the theme of Her in a way that was impossible not to fall in love with.
Direction
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As a director Spike Jonze is an beautiful anomaly, he’s managed to keep one foot in the fringe and the other in the mainstream, allowing his enthusiastic and somewhat eccentric methods to remain untouched by the need to conform to Hollywood rules and regulations, which so many directors who make it big often fail to do.
Jonze approached Her like a Madison Avenue maverick, constructing the film with a sharpe and engaging edge. The end result was pristine, and something which drew me in from the very beginning and kept me hooked right until the last moment.