And this week's Friday night movie has been....Her!
Hasn't this been a major hit: A movie about a guy who falls in love with an AI? Personally, I approached this movie with caution: I've seen a lot of anime which plays off a similar scenario (ordinary guy falls in love with anything-but-ordinary girlfriend in a story that is out to pander to an audience of guys who struggle with the world outside their bedroom) so can this movie do more than rehash an oft-played scenario?
Apparently it can. This is indeed an odd movie - but I suppose that is par for the course with Spike Jonze. It certainly has some things to say about getting over a breakup and moving on - but the way it is going about it is indeed something else. It's funny at times and emotionally intense other times. It is clever, challenging and not afraid to go for the jugular with it's emotional punches. And the two leads are great with Joaquin Phoenix carrying the movie and Scarlett Johansson giving the performance of her career (impressive when she is only present in voice).
Is it like the anime I mentioned in the previous paragraph? Maybe, but it is interesting to see a familiar trope being taken in a different direction.
It's a very good movie yet I can't help but think that it's just as well that the movie got made when it did (2013). because in a post-MeToo/Elliot-Rodger world one would think that a socially-maladjusted, emotionally-crippled, confidence-challenged protagonist would be one heading down the path of a villain.
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