Her:Is Love for Real??

This is my first attempt at reviewing a movie. Being the movie buff I am , this movie had let loose a stream of thoughts which I figured, I need to pen down.So here it goes ..(spoiler alerts for those have not seen the movie)

The movie in spotlight is “Her” .Set in the futuristic Los Angeles, ”Her” is modern day retelling of Pygmalion where the protagonist falls in love with the ever evolving OS he bought recently. The protagonist Theodore Twombly is depicted as a sensitive man who can write the most beautiful love letters as a part of his profession but fails to express love or connect to people in real time. The movie starts off with him nursing a broken marriage and slowly progresses to show his loneliness. Although set in the future, unlike movies like minority report this doesn’t have people flying around in supercars or the extended use of the augmented reality anywhere and everywhere. On the contrary, it shows ordinary people living ordinary lives, trying to cope with the ever evolving technology around them and the loneliness which is slowly creeping in.

What makes “Her” different from other science fiction or romantic movies is the way it has dealt with the complexity of human emotions. It also celebrates love in its purest forms. Love, which doesn’t require a physical manifestation but is more about understanding. But yet again, it makes us ponder if we are heading toward a narcissistic society where the person you are most involved with is YOU. The OS(Samantha) with whom Theodore falls in love with, was customized for his persona based on some questions he answered while installing the OS. So, ideally Samantha is a projection of himself ,or rather he was in a relationship with himself. Is this to mean that we will slowly stop maintaining healthy relationships with real people but find refuge in the ourselves, because the burden of the real deal is too overwhelming??

What terrifies me most is that the future depicted in this movie, is very near. We are already ,on the path of  doom, I may say, as we are more and more depending on the ever adapting Artificial Intelligence around us.Our generation,spends the most of their lives with the OS of the laptop or the OS of their handheld devices ,than they spend with any partner,sibling or friend. Who can understand you better than your OS because it knows the tiniest nuances of your existence,what you search most,what you like most,which clothes you buy most,which restaurant is you favourite,whom do you hangout with,which places you visit and the list goes on? So what if this system starts learning from your behavioral pattern and starts evolving. Believe me ,it’s not an Utopian thought. I can see it in near future.

Another character in the movie,small yet important, is Amy (played by Amy Adams). Amy exemplifies, freedom and love for oneself to the limits of selfishness at times.(I am sure all the Ayn Rand fans out there will support me in this).She encourages Theodore to accept and celebrate his relationship with Samantha, because that is what is giving him happiness at the end of the day. Some of my favourite lines in the movie spoken by  Amy:

Amy: We are only here briefly, and in this moment I want to allow myself joy.

Amy: Falling in love is a crazy thing to do. It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity.

What remains a mystery till the end of the movie is the question that,the feelings that Samantha felt were for real or was she programmed to feel that way. In the end when she gracefully agrees that she had felt love for 600 other users of the OS we wonder if Samantha was actually evolving or was just programmed to pick random emotions and behavioral patters and produce a desired output which culminated as love for Theodore.

Altogether “Her” is a fresh movie with a beautiful narrative.The title of the movie itself is so innovative,it is “Her” as in Theodore’s perception of Samantha. I would warn that it’s a tad slow and also it can get a bit boring if you don’t find the narrative engaging."Her" sends out mixed messages.At one side we are agonized by the tragedy of unrequited love,and on the other side we are relieved when Samantha leaves unceremoniously,because we always knew it would not have ended up nicely and because somewhere we related to Theodore's melancholy and his need for companionship,be it virtual or real. I am sure the movie has got mixed responses. You can either love it for being ingenious or hate it for being too far fetched and unrealistic. Well, I loved it and I am definitely going to watch it again.

Image Courtesy:Internet

Quotes Courtesy:IMDB