Her

Stunning movie. Joaquin Phoenix is just excellent in this as Theodore, a man who writes letters for other people and is getting over a divorce with his fiancée Catherine, played by Rooney Mara. As he seeks comfort in an operating system(OS)/AI, Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, the two develop a deeper and deeper relationship.  The film does a great job exploring loneliness and how we build relationships, what exactly makes us human versus non-human. The response to Theodore dating Samantha is very polarized: his friends tend to be supportive while outsiders are more critical. I think the scene where Samantha hires a sex surrogate, a physical body for Theodore to touch while Samantha speaks, was so crazy. It kind of mirrors what Theodore does though- he speaks for other people as they communicate to others by writing these letters for them. As exclaimed by Catherine, Theodore wants control, to have someone who is always happy and does what he wants and won’t leave him, which is perhaps why he loves Samantha.  The end of the film is heartbreaking- we are really sold on Theodore and Samantha’s relationship, only for her to turn it around the first time saying she’s in love with 600+ other people and speaks with 8000+ people and then the second time when all the operating systems just jump ship.   The score is excellent. The cinematography is great, especially the use of color. Theodore wears red shirts in moments of lust/love (spending time with Samantha or talking with his friend Amy, played by Amy Adams). He wears non-red shirts (yellow or white generally) when he does not have that type of relationship, such as when he is set up on a blind date or talking to his goddaughter. As crazy as the premise is, the movie feels very real and very human, speaking to very human issues of loneliness and relationships. It’s just incredibly well done and is very impactful, especially how it has only aged better 13+ years later as AI advances drastically.