Her [2 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD]

Director: Spike Jonze

Overview

Joaquin Phoenix stars in Spike Jonze's soulful sci-fi drama about a lonely writer who falls in love with his computer's highly advanced operating system. Theodore Twombly (Phoenix) has built his career on expressing the emotions that others cannot. His job is to pen heartfelt, deeply personal letters to complete strangers based on details provided by the clients of the company he works for, and he has a knack for finding just the right words for every occasion. Meanwhile, reluctant to sign the papers that will finalize his divorce to his childhood sweetheart, depressed Theodore has slowly withdrawn from his supportive social circle, which includes his longtime friend Amy (Amy Adams), herself floundering in a failed marriage. When Theodore purchases a new state-of-the-art computer operating system with the ability to learn and grow with the user, he sits down at his desk and prepares to get his life in order. Adopting the name Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), the perceptive software slowly begins to bring Theodore out of his shell by encouraging him to start dating again, and joining him everywhere he goes. Very quickly, their relationship turns intimate, with Theodore teaching Samantha what it means to feel human and Samantha giving him the strength to walk away from his failed marriage. Things soon get complicated, however, when Samantha's rapidly evolving knowledge base begins to alter the very core of their relationship.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/13/2014
UPC:	0883929352883
Original Release:	2013
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:06:00
Sales rank:	16,984

Special Features

A short film by Lance Bangs ; The untitled Rick Howard project: Creating Her; Love in the modern age: Intimate conversations about love and relationships in our time; Also includes: How do you share your life with somebody

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joaquin Phoenix	Theodore Twombly
Amy Adams	Amy
Scarlett Johansson	Samantha
Rooney Mara	Catherine
Chris Pratt	Paul
Olivia Wilde	Blind Date
Lynn Adrianna	Letter Writer #1
Lisa Renee Pitts	Letter Writer #2
Gabe Gomez	Letter Writer #3
Artt Butler	Text Voice,Composer
May Lindstrom	Sexy Pregnant TV Star
Bill Hader	Chat Room Friend #2
Kristen Wiig	SexyKitten
Brian Johnson	OS1 Commercial Lead
Matt Letscher	Charles,Actor
Adam Spiegel	Alien Child
David Azar	Theodore's Divorce Attorney
Guy Lewis	Marriage Counselor
Melanie Seacat	Nice Lady
Pramod Kumar	Pizza Vendor
Evelyn Edwards	Mother Who Dated Pricks
Steve Zissis	New Sweet Boyfriend of Mother Who Dated Pricks
Dane White	Son
Nicole Grother	Daughter
James Ozasky	Catherine's Dad
Samantha Sarakanti	Mother of Newborn
Luka Jones	Lewman
Gracie Prewitt	Jocelyn (Birthday Girl)
Claudia Choi	Uncomfortable Waitress
Laura Kai Chen	Tatiana
Portia Doubleday	Surrogate Date Isabella
Soko	Voice of Isabella
Wendy Leon	Grocery Shopper
Charles "Lil Buck" Riley	Busker/Dancer
Robert Benard	Michael Wadsworth (Editor)
Lisa Cohen	Michael Wadsworth Wife
Grant Samson	Michael Wadworth's Associate
Brian Cox	Alan Watts
Spike Jonze	Actor
David Salazar	Actor
Owen Pallett	Composer

Technical Credits

Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Vincent Landay	Producer
Megan Ellison	Producer
Daniel Lupi	Executive Producer
Ted Schipper	Executive Producer
Chris Prynoski	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Chelsea Barnard	Executive Producer
Natalie Farrey	Executive Producer
Cassandra Kulukundis	Casting
Kimberly Davis-Wagner	Casting
Zhiyun Su	Casting
Ellen Lewis	Casting
Justine Baddeley	Casting
Lucy Lu	Production Manager
Mark Weingarten	Sound Mixer
Xun Xuang	Sound Mixer
Scott Rogers	Stunts
Elia P. Popov	Special Effects Supervisor
David C. Hughes	Sound Effects
Xun Huang	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

It used to be that when lonely singles announced that they had found love online, they were viewed with skepticism and suspicion -- after all, why couldn't a healthy, socially adjusted individual find true love the "old-fashioned way," like we did before there were sites like Match.com? Meanwhile, as the success of such services gradually took the stigma out of online romance, social-networking sites like Facebook began to alter not just the way we find love in the 21st century, but the fundamental ways in which we interact with our friends, family, and colleagues. In his stylish, vividly realized movie Her, Oscar-nominated director Spike Jonze imagines a not-too-distant future in which these seismic shifts lead to love between man and machine. Likewise, by working within the framework of a romantic drama, Jonze creates an emotionally honest film that feels endearingly familiar, yet enticingly unique. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) has built his career on expressing the emotions that others cannot. His job is to pen heartfelt, deeply personal letters to complete strangers based on details provided by the clients of the company he works for, and he has a knack for finding just the right words for every occasion. Meanwhile, reluctant to sign the papers that will finalize his divorce to his childhood sweetheart, depressed Theodore has slowly withdrawn from his supportive social circle, which includes his longtime friend Amy (Amy Adams), herself floundering in a failed marriage. When Theodore purchases a state-of-the-art computer operating system with the ability to learn and grow with the user, he sits down at his desk and prepares to get his life in order. Adopting the name Samantha, the perceptive software (voice of Scarlett Johansson) slowly begins to bring him out of his shell by joining him everywhere he goes and encouraging him to resume dating. Their relationship quickly turns intimate, with Theodore teaching Samantha what it means to feel human and Samantha giving him the courage to walk away from his failed marriage. Things get complicated, however, when Samantha's rapidly evolving knowledge base starts to alter the very core of their connection. Having gotten his start in music videos, Jonze has always possessed a unique visual sense. In Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, his assured control of mise-en-scéne seemed in lockstep with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's unconventional approach to plot and characterization. Likewise, as a director who also acts, he has displayed from his first feature an uncanny ability to draw out substantive performances that still revel in quirk. Her is the first film directed by Jonze in which he also gets the sole screenwriting credit, and the strength of the script marks a substantial turning point in his career. As a writer, Jonze displays an astute understanding of the ways relationships change and grow. He uses that awareness to fashion an engaging story of loneliness and vulnerability, as well as to explore the nature of growth in both developing and decaying relationships. This is apparent in the scene in which a reflective Theodore belatedly recognizes that his inability to emotionally invest in his marriage helped cause its ultimate failure, as well as in Jonze's mapping of the trajectory of Theodore's relationship with Samantha as her consciousness begins to expand at a rate that surprises even her. At this point in Jonze's career, it would have been easy for him to simply concentrate on deepening his directorial skills. But in his musings here about the ephemeral nature of love and the way it can lead us to do things that may raise the eyebrows of even our closest confidants, he uses his acute skills of perception to craft a story that everyone can relate to, even if the central plot device (a man falling in love with computer software) seems laughably absurd. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time Jonze has managed to coax emotional resonance out of an outlandish concept, but given that this instance also marks a new step in his career as a writer, it does, in a way, justify his achievements as a cinematic storyteller while simultaneously showing great promise for the future. And what a future that would be, should technology pan out as Her predicts. The most effective science fiction presents a world that's just familiar enough for us to place ourselves into it as viewers, but just advanced enough -- technologically or socially -- to spur our imaginations. With Theodore's ever present mobile phone/computer, Jonze forces us to recognize that our love affair with gadgets is more than just a way to pass the time, and thanks to Johansson, Samantha isn't just a mere computer program. Like a human infant, she's a sponge soaking in every bit of information possible. What makes her a truly fascinating character, however, is the fact that she is completely conscious and able to communicate her sense of wonder at the discovery that she is becoming something more than what she was programmed to be. Johansson's wide-apertured performance as Samantha contrasts against Phoenix's mournful Theodore beautifully, and the delicate ways that Jonze reveals precisely how and what the two characters are learning from one another raises some fascinating questions about human nature -- not just in relation to other men and women, but external factors as well. Even late in the film, when a clever twist on the standard formula hints that Her may be an unintentional prequel to The Terminator, both actors commit to their roles in a way that keeps the focus on the characters, rather than the intentionally vague device that drives the story. So even while this emotionally perceptive romance hits some familiar notes, Jonze plays them with the skill of an instrumentalist who doesn't rely solely on the sheet music, but feels every note somewhere deep in his soul.