Movie Monday: HER

What to say about HER? It'a love story. Yes, even though one of the partners is an OS (Operating System, perfectly voiced by Scarlett Johansson), it's a love story. Oh, how we humans long for connection! This movie examines what that connection looks like in the 21st Century -- how the advances in technology are transforming the ways in which we relate to one another. So much social media, so many ways to connect, and yet how difficult it can be, how isolating our machines can be.

One scene in the movie broke my heart: The main character Theodore, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is at the entrance to the subway, and he's watching all these people come up the stairs. They make no eye contact, and each of them is involved not with each other, but in their connection with an earpiece that connects them to whatever is on the other end. Is that what the world is coming to?

Something I loved about the movie: the relationship between Theodore and his OS (Samantha) mirrored a human love affair. From delight to intoxication to eventual disenchantment and moving on... all the emotions were completely real and authentic -- even if one of the partners wasn't completely real and authentic. I liked how falling in love with one's OS wasn't seen as weird in the world created by the movie. There was even a double date: a human couple, and our human/OS couple. And it worked!

The movie did drag in places, but ultimately I found it a valuable, entertaining experience.

Love is like that.