#Her spike jonze cinematography movie
#Her spike jonze cinematography series

Joaquin Phoenix is tasked with holding the screen (often alone) for the majority of the film's scenes, and he once again proves to be a great actor of his generation, with a very nuanced and sensitive portrayal of a man searching for the next phase of his life.

Still, by the end, there is uplifting sentiment to be found, even if the character arc is wrapped much more neatly than some of the other interesting narrative threads - and even if the final send-off is an echo of something we've seen so many times before. From the first encounter between Theo and Sam there is a very clear target Jonze is aiming for, and he locks sight on that target and shoots directly for it, relying on the experience of the journey and the fresh opportunities provided by the futuristic setting to be more engaging than the somewhat cliched destination.

#Her spike jonze cinematography movie

However, at the same time, the script also rehashes many familiar tropes used by any number of previous books or films about the journey back from heartbreak.įrom the premise alone you can probably guess how the movie flows (initial 'puppy-love,' the first signs of tension or doubt, the hard realities of commitment, etc.) and most of the deeper themes of the story are not exactly woven in with subtlety. This an intimate, honest, often funny, charming and very insightful story that manages to strike some pretty universal emotional chords.

#Her spike jonze cinematography series

The script was also written by Jonze, and it progresses according to a carefully-controlled tempo and smart series of stops along the narrative and character arcs, providing strong development by way of some episodic tangents into Theodore's attempts to reclaim some form of love in his life.

The bright color schemes, sepia-washed cinematography and scene-to-scene composition combine for a visual palette that is captivating without being distracting, and the world of the film is, in general, a fun sandbox to play in while getting deeper into the emotional character story. The future he imagines looks all-too-real and organically grown out of the world we live in now - seemingly familiar while still providing the technological flourishes that make sci-fi interesting and thought-provoking when compared to current reality. On a directorial level, Jonze has once again brought his unique visual creativity to life in a very grounded way. But while Jonze does indeed succeed in creating a very engaging and fresh twist on an old tale, the resulting commentary may feel overly-familiar (and somewhat predictable) by the end of the journey. In Her, the goal is to examine the process of loving through a non-traditional, non-physical relationship, set within a world that borders eerily close to our tech-infused (and as a result, alienating) modern reality. Spike Jonze is famous for his high-concept films like Being John Malkovich or Where the Wild Things Are that use very unorthodox premises to provide for real and relevant insight into the human mind and/or soul, as it relates to connective thread of life experience. Before long, Theo finds that he is connecting to Samantha better than he has any of the real women he's encountered but when man and computer begin an earnest love connection, the ramifications of that 'love' will impact them in ways neither of them ever expected. companion quickly fashions an identity for herself as 'Samantha' (Scarlett Johansson) and goes about trying to improve Theo's life, as well as his sullen disposition. Theodore is a hardcore tech-geek of this Apple-brand future world, which is why it's no surprise that he's lured in by the debut of 'OS 1,' a new artificially intelligent computer operating system.

In Her, filmmaker Spike Jonze treats us to a vision of the near-future where we meet sensitive writer Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a man in the midst of a lonely depression as a result of his impending divorce.

Her is further proof that the outlandish imagination of Spike Jonze may be one of the most accurate and insightful lenses for observing the great human saga.