Her- Jaw-Dropping Beauty from Spike Jonze
I can’t help but sound tediously pretentious when I say
‘Her’ is pure cinematic beauty, but there is no other way of describing Spike
Jonze’s genuine masterpiece. It doesn’t quite fit into any genre, it is sci-fi,
but uses the sci-fi in the same way any film uses its world, it is almost a
screwball comedy but brutally sad and melancholy at times. No matter what your
opinion on Jonze as a director, he is definitely undeniably unique, his films
don’t quite fit into what you see in Hollywood and that is why he excels as he
takes risks and explores narratives that aren’t conventionally appealing but
manages to embody them with simple beauty. If you relax and let ‘Her’ sweep you
away in its visual precision and beautiful world, you will be met with one of
the most thematically sublime films I have ever seen.
The concept of ‘Her’ is admittedly quite alienating, it
feels like an unimaginative ‘Black Mirror’ episode but Jonze takes pleasure
with the ‘How’ rather than getting bogged down with the ‘what’, unlike ‘Black
Mirror’ which spends so much time on its societal and technological message ‘Her’
is a human message through and through. The thematic scope is incredibly challenging,
Jonze delves into the human condition, exploring loneliness, connections and
the complexity of relationships both platonic and romantic. He balances these
themes and ideas with an incredibly compelling narrative, the pacing is marvellously
meticulous with each scene playing an important factor in world-building and character
development. The narrative itself plays with conventional understandings of the
romance genre, for what you expect the film to be, it leans into that top extenuate
its thematic drive, rather than trying so hard to challenge and subvert your
expectations it uses them as a meta-storytelling device to pursue the thematic
angle. This does result in some plot elements being quite predictable, the
narrative beats are sort of what you expect and predict, yet the thematic angle
Jonze takes is the really unexpected angle.
At the core of this film’s beautiful woven narrative and
thematic ambition is a revolutionary performance from Joaquin Phoenix as
Theodore who completely makes this film into what it is. There is something
effortlessly sympathetic about Theodore as a character, Phoenix portrays loneliness
through simple facial expressions and just the way he responds to his life and situations.
The way Theodore plays a video game or the way Theodore talks to an old friend,
the way he walks down the street, the way he looks out of his balcony all
demonstrate a quality about his character, an idea that Phoenix puts forward.
It is an admirable performance because Jonze realises he doesn’t need a flashy
emotional scene to communicate Theodore as a character or showcase Phoenix as
an actor, instead it is all about the simplicity. I’ve never been much of a fan
of Scarlett Johannsson as an actor, but ‘Her’ really shows off her skills as a voice
actor. Her voice is entrancing and overwhelming to the audience, she feels comforting
yet human and the audience’s preconceived notion of her character is challenged
due to how human she feels. It is a marvel of the sound design, as they seem to
use non-naturalism to surround the audience with her voice, there is no
objectivism instead she feels close and almost mesmerizingly real to the audience.
The world-building this film achieves is a showcase of strength
in a film that is not setting up a franchise or exploring an IP people are
familiar with. It’s really nice attention to detail that fills up the world of
the film and creates a broad sense of realism to this sci-fi world. Details like
the futuristic occupations the characters have, the new technology that seems conceivable
in the future but works to the aesthetic of this world. Jonze also fills his
world with a collection of really compelling side characters, Amy Adams plays
Theodore’s close friend and confident Amy, who is a real unexpected focus of
the film. She is sympathetic and complex and her interactions with Theodore are
some of the most memorable scenes in the film.
‘Her’ falls into that category of films that you can pull a
shot out of and it looks like a work of art, the visual design is flawless,
genuinely perfect and leaves you completely breathless at times. The colour grading
pairs with the themes and narrative coordination, the cinematography sticks with
Theodore utilising a lot of hand-held camera work to really strike a connection
without feeling obnoxious. Shots are framed with a sense of distance, the
framing remains wide or close depending on the characters emotional stance, the
frame is absorbed with Phoenix’ face when he is happy and leaves it when he
feels loneliest. It is just efficient and subtle visual storytelling that adds
to the thematic ambition without ever needing to feel like it is reaching for
this purpose.
It seems almost impossible to try and pinpoint what makes ‘Her’
what it is, it is one of those rare pieces of cinema where everything just
comes together in an overwhelmingly beautiful style. Jonze has a beautiful and the important message he wants to put across, yet he doesn’t favour it over tone or
emotion instead combining all these elements to make a melancholy, whimsical
and captivating story about love, loneliness and above all the connections we
share in this world.
Thanks for reading.