...and I love HER... (Film Review)

by Love Esios

Ever imagined how the future might look like with all the technological advances designed to make our lives convenient? Everything is easily accessible, everything is functional not with a snap of your fingers, but with the sound of your voice. No need to write emails, no need to see the news, and perhaps in most instances, no need to go out and feel the weather outside. You just speak most of the time to a piece of metal but there is no real interpersonal communication because you constantly interact night and day with...say... an operating system. Uh-huh. You read that right. A relationship with an OS. Okay, let me make that clear, a romantic relationship with an OS. Insane? Well, that's what I thought while watching this film by Spike Jonze who, by the way, bagged the Oscar's Best Original Screenplay earlier this year for this film.

One thing I like about this movie is that it explores the social problems being encountered by the people in the age of modernization and technological breakthroughs while perhaps losing in touch with reality and human interaction. In the movie, we saw how a heartbroken guy basically turned to technology in the hope to save himself from his distress, which I think most of us (if not all) often do when we are down or depressed. We take all our frustrations to social media with the use of... yes... the internet! There is even a moment in the film when he excused himself from his friends just to spend time talking to his OS. Strange but with the rate things are going in the present, the scenario presented in the film might actually take place in the future!

To give you a quick overview of the film, the story revolves around the life of Theodore Twombly, a guy who works as a professional writer of letters for people who can't seem to write heartfelt letters themselves. It would be eventually shown that he's very lonely and is also dealing with a falling apart with her wife which leads to divorce. Eventually, he would discover and purchase a highly-intelligent operating system that can practically provide him with ALL of his needs.

I like how Spike Jonze gave life to his (human) characters. How they deal with the same emotional turmoil every day and how, in many ways, they turn to technology for comfort. The concept of the story is not actually new to most of us, but the way it was written and acted out in the film left me feeling amused, stricken, odd, confused and hanging all at the same time. I also like how the setting came to play in the movie. Unlike other tech/romance-based movies, the setting was not very futuristic for me but I somehow enjoy looking at the pinkish color schemes surrounded by a bland society of people who enjoy using their gadgets 24/7 than actually interacting with each other.

Theodore and Amy

I want to commend Joaquin Phoenix for masterfully portraying a grief-stricken Theodore Twombly. Amy Adams, who portrayed the character Amy (yes, the same name), also gave a strong supporting role. I actually like the fact that she didn't appear pretty and fabulous in this film (which is going to be irrelevant if so, I know). And how can I forget the voice behind the strong-willed and intelligent OS that named itself Samantha...the excellent participation of Scarlett Johansson in the film. Her voice was full of sincerity, intelligence, humor and hope that probably if the said OS actually exists, it would definitely be sold out in just a few hours. To be honest, I almost thought and actually hope that in the end, the voice would come alive and just like how fairy tales end, they would live happily ever after. But then again, happy ever after don't actually exist, do they?

I would've given it a perfect espresso shot rating if not for the vague ending of the story. But I won't discount the fact that this movie is worthy of it's nomination and recognition in the recently-concluded Oscars. 

So, an 8/10 espresso shot will do for this movie. Enjoy! ;)




Note: All photos grabbed from Google Images. All credits to the owners of the photos.