Perfect. Magical. Transcendent. Spike Jonze’s Her is more than just a movie – it is a piercingly raw artistic confessional, a film that takes a seemingly outlandish science-fiction concept at face value to lay bare some of the greatest complexities of the human spirit. In telling the story of Theodore Twombly, a lonely and brokenhearted man who falls in love with his artificially intelligent operating system, Jonze refuses to take any of the subjects he raises easy, never oversimplifying or selling short, and constantly presenting something so much more thoughtful and nuanced and creative than expectation would dictate.
The film starts with the fallout of a breakup, expands to become a broader study of the contrast between the world we inhabit and worlds beyond our understanding – between the tangible boundaries of sight and the far-reaching marvels of human perception and emotion – before ending with an affirmation of the wonder that is a meaningful connection between two souls, no matter how long or short the relationship. Jonze’s writing is painful, a series of emotional purgings that are simultaneously uncomfortable, beautiful, and cathartic, while he challenges every one of his actors and artistic collaborators to the limits of their ability. Passionate and naturalistic, Joaquin Phoenix delivers the single best performance of 2013, while the impression Scarlett Johansson leaves in her stunning voice-over work is unshakable. In a year positively packed with films I would call dense, rich, and wondrously multifaceted, Her operates on more artistically and thematically invigorating dimensions than any other, and stands for me as the year’s greatest cinematic achievement.
Her is now playing in Los Angeles and New York, and will open nationwide on January 10th. Read my full review of the film here and check out our interview with several of the cast members below.
What were your favorite films of 2013? Share your thoughts in the comments, and come back this Monday for a list of the 20 Next-Best Films of 2013.
