WORDS Eoin McCague

An air of loneliness and sadness has pervaded Spike Jonze’s films, from his 1999 breakthrough Being John Malkovich right through to 2009’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. Her is the story of a computer nerd who falls in love with his iOS, and while this brief synopsis would appear to buck his world-weary trend with a plotline seemingly ripped from a Judd Apatow vehicle, the result doesn’t veer too far from Jonze’s comfort zone. And thank God for that.

Set in a faintly Blade Runner-influenced LA some undisclosed time in the near future, Her centres around Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a ghost writer of personalised love cards, who is reeling from the break-up of his marriage (heartbreakingly shown in near silent flashbacks between Phoenix and on-screen wife Rooney Mara). Isolated in an overcrowded city, Theodore spends his nights alone in his apartment playing video games and shunning human contact. After updating his PC’s operating system with the intuitive and curious artificial intelligence “Samantha” (Scarlett Johansson), Theodore slowly emerges from his hermetic shell and falls in love once again.

Much has been written of Jonze’s decision to forgo Samantha Morton’s vocal performance in post-production, bringing in Johansson at the 11th hour. She is simply a revelation. Often typecast as the brainless bombshell or leather-clad super heroine, Johansson is finally gifted the first role post-Lost in Translation that truly showcases her immense talents. Despite never setting foot on set, her chemistry with Phoenix is palpable, and with only the use of that sultry, husky voice she has managed to craft her most three dimensional character to date. Had the Academy revised its rather arbitrary rules regarding what constitutes a “performance”, she would have been a deserved frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actress gong.

Thankfully Jonze, serving as his own screenwriter, is less interested in the sci-fi aspect of a man falling in love with his computer than the emotional one. Supported by an astonishing score from Arcade Fire’s Win Butler, Jonze has crafted perhaps the 21st century’s first wholly original take on the romantic comedy. Despite a predictable conclusion, the director’s ability to maintain tone and inject real emotion into a laughable concept is astonishing. The deserving front runner for this year’s Best Original Screenplay, Her flips romantic and filmmaking conventions on their heads, resulting in Jonze’s best work to date.

Grade: I