Spike Jonze’s Her follows the blooming romantic relationship between Theodore Twombly and Samantha, an artificial intelligence operating system in a near-future Los Angeles.  It explores the ramifications of human interaction- including our search for existential validation by means of another person as well as the the emotional capabilities of artificial intelligence and the human mind.  This film is unique, in that it effectively portrays the personality of a disembodied main character through consistent representation of Samantha as Theodore’s love interest.

Consistent shots of the non-physical Samantha left me with no doubt as to whether or not she was present in the scene.  Theodore’s earpiece is representative of Samantha, as it can be seen extending from his ear each time they have a conversation.  The way in which the relationship between Theodore and Samantha played out never felt strange or out-of-place, as their interactions felt natural.  The only difference of their relationship was her lack of a physical body.  In order to combat this, Theodore charmingly pinned a safety pin to his shirt pocket, seen below, where Samantha utilized the camera of his device to share the sight of his surroundings- he granted her “eyes,” in a sense:

This film consists of airy, closely focused shots which exemplified the absence of a physical Samantha while conveying Theodore’s tendency to lose himself in his thoughts.  Jonze utilized blurred out backgrounds in almost every pivotal shot in the film with intention (more on that later.)  For example, in the scene displayed below, Theodore is recalling an awkward and failed blind date he went on earlier that night while talking through the experience with Samantha (through an earpiece used to communicate, as opposed to her physical presence.)  In this shot, Theodore is tightly-framed in low-light, in order to most accurately depict his thought process and emotions in this moment, lost in thought from the rest of the world:

In the next scene, Theodore is talking with Samantha about the viability of their relationship extending into the future. In the first shot, the earpiece (which is representative of Samantha’s presence) is visible and Theodore has a concerned, spaced expression. There is then a cut to his point-of-view which is again, out of focus, highlighting the dust particles floating in the air in order to remove Theodore from his surroundings; he is staring into space, visually lost in his thoughts.  This feels existential in nature and delivers the film’s message in a profound manner.

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Throughout Her, Theodore seems to be affected by the natural setting which surrounds him.  Perhaps the most beautiful, uplifting scene in the movie is centered around Theodore and Samantha’s Sunday outing to the beach.  This is when their topics of conversation are depicted as the most light-hearted and touching.  It is warm and sunny; he is looking off into the ocean and reveling in his surroundings.  Again, notice how blurred out the background is in the shot below, expressing to me the ability of Theodore and Samantha’s bond to block out the rest of the world.  

This is a relatable feeling to me, when another person (in this case, Samantha to Theodore) has the ability to “soften” our surroundings- uplifting one from all the trials and tribulations that engulf them and replacing a sense of relief, an escape.  I feel as though Jonze captured this phenomena perfectly through his intentional blurring of backgrounds.  When what the main character is focused on is in conjunction with what the audience is focused on we are able to relate to that character in a smooth and seamless manner.

Contradictorily, in the three separate scenes below, Theodore and Samantha are talking about existentially dark realizations made from both their respective human and virtual world perspectives.  It seems as though each time more negatively surrounding thoughts are expressed it is nighttime, the color scheme is starkly bleak and the background is blurred.  This both establishes and compliments the sense of “darkness” in their conversations and emotions in addition to their separation from the rest of the world.  I enjoyed the use of low-lighting and nighttime scenes in this film, as we all can relate to late nights spent ruminating over aspects of our lives we have little-to-no control over and cannot change.  I feel it’s a setting not many films utilize often enough and is the most effective in conveying more negatively-focused emotion.

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The idea that the natural setting surrounding an individual affects their psychological mindset stems from Romantic and Transcendentalist ideas which claim that we, as human beings, are inherently impressionable by the tone of our world.  This film perfectly depicts this concept through deliberate manipulation of color scheme, blurred background and tight subject framing.  

Her is a film I effortlessly relate to on an emotional level.  It is a rollercoaster ride for romance-lovers and a foreshadowing tale for sci-fi fans; a soulful analysis of the human condition for those who revel in the complexities of life.  I would recommend it to anyone who hopes to develop their perspective on interpersonal relationships and laugh along the way.

Sources referenced:

Barsam, Richard, and Dave Monahan. Looking at movies. 5th ed. W W Norton, 2015. Print.

Her. Dir. Spike Jonze. Perf. Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013. Film. Youtube.com. 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 17 Jan. 2017.

Lewis, Jone Johnson. “What is Transcendentalism?” What is Transcendentalism?N.p., 11 Apr. 2004. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

“Psychogeography.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Feb. 2017. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Rizos, J. “Spike Jonze’s HER, A Critical Analysis.” Supercenter Nation. N.p., 3 July 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.