Her (Spike Jonze, 2013)

[Jeff]

Warner must be pretty confident in this, since they've now scheduled it for wide release on November 20. The impressive cast list was also revealed to be even deeper today: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Samantha Morton, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt and Olivia Wilde.

Nice to see Warner (or any major studio) going all auteur-ballsy with new projects from the likes of Jonze and P.T. Anderson.

[FakeBonanza]

The first trailer has been released.

[mfunk9786]

I don't know how this trailer is going to be received, let alone the film, but I think that looks fantastic.

[Zot!]

Youtube comment: Manic Pixie Dream Computer

Looks gross.

[hearthesilence]

I'm a little wary that it may be a bit precious, not to mention too creepy. The whole concept is inherently creepy, but apparently they're trying to overcome that with earnestness - I'm not sure if they can pull that off, but we'll see.

[FakeBonanza]

I don't know how this trailer is going to be received, let alone the film, but I think that looks fantastic.

I agree. I can see the trailer being poorly received, as it is cut into a rather generic form, but Jonze's aesthetic shines through in the content itself.

I'm a little wary that it may be a bit precious, not to mention too creepy. The whole concept is inherently creepy, but apparently they're trying to overcome that with earnestness - I'm not sure if they can pull that off, but we'll see.

I have to wonder whether this is something the film will address to some extent (though likely not in such terms), given the presence of, at least, the Amy Adams character in Phoenix's life. It does seem to me, watching the trailer, that it is not revealing the entire plot.

[colinr0380]

The only thing that worries me about the premise (apart from whether Scarlett Johansson has an impossible task ahead in measuring up to Kelly LeBrock) is the issue of falling in love with an Operating System. I just hope it is not a Microsoft one that is either terribly bug-ridden, or works excellently until being suddenly and inexplicably being taken off the market for a newer version!

In a good way, I'm not sure that I am able to nail down the tone of the final film from that trailer - is it going to be a goofy comedy about loving a computer and what they do for you? Is it going to be a Malickian meditation on loves past, present and manufactured? Is it going to be a Being John Malkovich-esque bittersweet-shading-into-irony collapse for our lead? Is it going to turn into a darker film as the hero rejects humanity to spend time with his computer-love, or is this going to be a lighter film about being taught how to love and open up again by proxy? (How real women are better than self-produced computer women) Is the premise going to be used for a meditation on the themes of living your life through a screen, or even ideas about giving up your private data to a corporately (and presumably mass manufactured) computer program; or is the technology angle going to be soft pedalled with relationship aspects foregrounded? Could the film turn into a dark paranoid thriller or classic sci-fi route of a rejected computer being driven crazy by jealousy?(!)

I'm glad that all of those possibilities are still being left open by that trailer!

[Brian C]

Upon first watch, the trailer reminds me of Lars and the Real Girl, which is terribly unflattering.

That said, Jonze typically finds some weird but wonderful emotional territory in his films, and this is the kind of thing that terrifies studio marketers anyway. So I'm not putting much stock in my reaction to the trailer.

[mfunk9786]

It reminds me of Stranger Than Fiction without as much danger of suffocating under its high-concept premise. That film had no room to breathe emotionally - but it seems like Jonze is smart enough to be going for something very low-key here.

[rs98762001]

Looks like a gooey, sentimental grab for a slice of Oscar pie. Jonze's work has always been overrated, but recently, exemplified by his choice of collaborators such as Arcade Fire and Dave Eggers, he's become more middlebrow hipster bourgeois than ever.

[warren oates]

Wait, so you're really hating on his Scenes From the Suburbs short? I think it's his best work and one of the better films about teenagers I've seen in a while.

[The Narrator Returns]

Also, does this really stand a chance for any Oscars? Maybe a nom for Best Screenplay (in the spot reserved for weirder movies which stand no chance of winning), but definitely not Best Picture. And this doesn't exactly look "gooey". Melancholy would be the better word, just judging from the trailer (and Jonze's previous work).

[Luke M]

I think it looks wonderful. I've watched the trailer five times already.

I'm not so sure about the Oscars thing but I'd still love to see Phoenix get the obligatory "we're sorry we didn't give it to you when you actually deserved it" award.

[tavernier]

World premiere, NY Film Festival Closing Night

[Kellen]

Is this the first feature that Spike has written on his own?

[mfunk9786]

Considering that our good buddy Spizzles has only directed three feature films prior to this one, I did the legwork for you: Yes.

[mfunk9786]

@DarrenAronofsky: ok so i saw a rough cut of the best film i've seen in a long time. spike jonze's her is exceptional. reminds me why i love film.

[domino harvey]

The studio did push it to a December limited opening (which means most of us won't see it til January), which indicates strong awards potential...

[domino harvey]

Steven Soderbergh helped influence the final edit of the film by lopping off an hour from Jonze's initial cut

[Jeff]

Steven Soderbergh helped influence the final edit of the film by lopping off an hour from Jonze's initial cut

The entire New York magazine article they got that from is worth a read. It's a pretty great profile of Jonze and the film.

[Jeff]

Reactions out of NYFF are pretty great: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Time, Slant, HitFix, The Playlist, Indiewire, Metro, and Film.com.

Here are "7 Things To Know About Spike Jonze's Her."

[domino harvey]

Though it's likely just a publicity stunt, Scarlett Johansson, who does not physically appear in the film, will be run for Best Supporting Actress

[Brian C]

Good thing for her that Ed Harris's riveting work in Gravity is in a different category.

[hearthesilence]

Finally got to see this, and while it isn't a terrible film, it's definitely my biggest disappointment this year given my high expectations. Besides the press reviews and Kent Jones' kind words, I had talked with two people who really liked it when they saw it at the NYFF, and a friend of mine who caught it at a media screening absolutely loved it.

It's a hard film to rate. The first part of the film felt a little bit like a slog - then it got better and for a while, I really liked it, albeit with qualifications. It seemed like a sharp and surprisingly brutal satire, criticizing how narcissistic people could be and how that was reflected in modern relationships (or what people were trying to get out of them), particularly in the way they've been colored by technological developments like social media.

If there was any major fault with the film at this point, it was the tendency to rely too much on dialogue. I was hoping more from a director like Spike Jonze, and it didn't help that much of the dialogue carried a whiney tone that reminded me of his previous picture, Where the Wild Things Are. (A bit tedious, like eavesdropping on someone's interminable therapy session.)

At one point, I wondered if Jonze had seen Godard's short film, Anticipation, and whether he was trying to say something along similar lines. But then the film turned into something simplistic, very saccharine and quite frankly irritating. The nadir was hearing Scarlett Johansson singing a horribly drippy song, acting out an out-of-tune chirp, to that fucking ukelele. It was nails on a chalkboard, bad enough that it felt like a parody gone too far, but it was clearly being sincere.

FWIW, I think IndieWire ran an article that criticized the lack of minorities in Her - it's absolutely meritless. The film's few main (human) characters are white, and a few speaking roles go to Asians, but the world around them has plenty of color.

[rs98762001]

It's a ghastly film. Smug, pseudo-profound, in love with its own banal musings. Jonze needs to hook back up with Kaufman, and quick.