Observations about culture, entertainment and life often from a spiritual perspective.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
The movie, Her
I finished the movie
feeling like I’d spent the evening in thrall with an amazing woman. And then we
broke up! That’s how watching the movie,Hermight make you feel.
Joaquin Phoenix is
Theodore, a sensitive and talented personal letter writer who walks through the
haze of melancholy music, video games and distractions to battle loneliness.
He’s not pitiful, I think. He’s reluctantly facing divorce from his wife and it's
dealt him a debilitating blow. He purchases an advanced operating system which is an
intuitive entity with the charming voice of Scarlett Johansson. The OS calls
“herself” Samantha. Very quickly, Theodore and Samantha develop feelings for
each other. Itisa bizarre relationship. Itisbrow raising. I'm overlooking any
vulgarity to isolate on the thing that consumed me throughout the film.
I’m not meaning to do
movie reviews— if I do them, I’m not in it to prove what’s good or what isn’t. ButHerhas such an emotional and honest
profundity that I find it overshadows the themes. I care about themes. I had a
hard time finding the words. I was heart sick. But not in a sad way.
Actress Samantha Morton played the O.S. before being replaced by Johansson.
I scanned some of the
reviews and of course, I saw mention of the idealization of women and the
obsession with technology. I also caught some pretty nasty hate comments about how people who
like this movie are “… pretentious pseudo intellectuals..." and worse. But
unabashedly, I say the relationship between these two characters was the height
of what love could sound like without resistance from the flesh. It was giving
without fear of disapproval. There were no mind games, no manipulation and no
milking of the ego. This story inadvertently tapped into what love may sound
like at least at an imperfect, but human peak. I mean it’s as close to
what love ought to look like. Samantha’s love was utterly selfless, if not naïve. By saying that, I know I’ve
already infected it with an insecurity. But I need to say that because her
character was not altogether human. Obviously naïve, no matter how intelligent
or how much knowledge Samantha could accumulate in her programming she can
never know what it’s like to have a human soul or be a physical woman. There
are movies that make you pause. You got to catch your breath and sit for 45 minutes. This is the one that did it for me. What makes this movie such a
find is the exquisite intimacy between Theodore and Samantha. I'm not talking
about sex. Is it embarrassing to openly discuss that everyone has experienced
that perfectly intoxicating sense of love and acceptance from the opposite sex?
I thought about that and it shouldn’t be. There was a pure and completely loving
acceptance of Theodore. It was in
her words. There was no judgment. No pretense. Even when she was leaving
him, it was completely compassionate. I think someone ought to say what so many
people are afraid to say aloud. That deep, deep down every single breathing
soul yearns for that kind of love—the thing that Theodore was looking for when
he wanted to have sex with Emily to fill that "small hole" in
himself. There are men and women who don't experience intimacy at all anymore
for whatever reason. That is a horror. So I won't mince words here, when
obviously ultimate fulfillment can only come from God. But you can’t duplicate
what the actors created; it astounds me what they did. Something that is so
hard to create between people in everyday life: genuine intimacy and rapport.
Actress Samantha Morton originally played the role of the A.I., but director
Spike Jonze decided to replace her with Johansson. You can't fake rapport.
These two actors, they had it. People still go to watch theater to experience
that kind of intimacy between characters, which is something I think the
theater has lost. IfHerwere a stage play, I’d probably
see it two more times. It’s perfect for the stage. That is the potential of
what true theater can be. Without egos and the ability to be vulnerable with some excellent, heartfelt
writing to boot. This script is a masterpiece and it won an Oscar for best
screenplay. I love this performance by Johansson more than I like her as Black
Widow.
Here is a short scene:
I confess I want to love
like that. At all times. I'm still not talking about sex. What a glorious way
to live and what honor it brings to God. Words have tremendous power. Too often
I see the careless way we destroy with our mouths when we can build each other
up with deliberate inclination.
While Samantha grows in
her programming, Theodore has stopped growing. The reality is that at some
point, Theodore would’ve wanted a real life relationship with a woman. It was
inevitable. But isn’t that what we do? We settle. We camp out in a hole.
Because we don’t think it could possibly get any better than this and we don’t
want to hurt anymore and we don't want to hurt the other person. Who can
deny the longing? Everyone has felt it and it’s there underneath all of the
emotional scars and information overload. However trite it sounds, there is no
more wonderful thing than having the close love and companionship of someone
who loves you so without reservation.
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