Movie Report: Her

This is my first "report" on my list of movies I'm watching for the year. I won't report on all of them, but I felt this one was worth mentioning.

Her is about a man who falls in love with an operating system. If you're like me, you're probably thinking, "completely unrealistic," right? But surprisingly, it wasn't. In the way it was depicted, I thought the relationship resembled a long-distance one, as if one person was on the phone the entire time. It was an interesting thing about the OS, though, was how it adapted its tone, behavior, and actions (like pulling up files, turning on devices) to the desires and interests of its owner. It could make the owner laugh, make dinner plans, call his friends, discuss current events, etc. As an audience member, I could see how fake this relationship could potentially be, yet I wanted to believe it. I saw the OS as an invisible person who was nonetheless real. What makes the story even more interesting is the juxtaposition of the owner's failed marriage with this new relationship. He couldn't manage a relationship with someone who was dynamic, who changed, and who was outside of his control (a human in other words); yet he found it fulfilling to be with an operating system who adapted to him and his needs. (This makes me wonder if what he actually loved was another form of himself.)

The film makes you contemplate the complexity of love: how a human loves another being (the components of love and attraction) and how one can love even if the relationship is impossible to maintain.

Rated R for good reason, I still highly recommend this movie. Very thought-provoking on all sorts of levels.