Premium Only Content

"Her" (2013) Directed by Spike Jonze
“The past is just a story we tell ourselves”.
Alexa — Please show me a dystopian future!
Following his previous collaborations with Charlie Kaufman and Dave Eggers, Her was Spike Jonze’s first solo screenplay and one which earned him his first Oscar success in 2014 for Best Original Screenplay. Her is certainly original in every sense and equally highly prescient in the overriding themes it tackles of an ever increasing technologically connected world but one in which human beings are more and more disconnected from ourselves, each other and of the day to day reality of the real world, and of our “marriage” to laptops, computers and smart phones that despite the great advantages these pieces of technology provide, also erect tangible barriers that these technological advances also create. But despite our, and the film’s, over dependency on the technology that surrounds and envelops us, Her has a real human story at it’s heart, two brilliant central performances set amid vivid and crystal clear cinematography from Director of Photography Hoyte Van Hoytema and a beautiful accompanying musical soundtrack from Canadian Indie rock band Arcade Fire.
The film is set in a near future world but rather than flying cars being the overall signifier of a said near future it is technologically driven and rather than today’s fast becoming obsolete practice of interacting with busy fingers on a laptop or smart phone screen, everything is voice activated with audio directly into the ears via a smart ear bud. Life in Her is seemingly familiar to today, however in Spike Jonze’s view of a near future many people have invested in a brand new, all purpose “O/S” or “Operating System” that they remain connected to throughout the day. Thus people of the near future seem to be constantly talking to themselves however they’re connected to, and interacting with, their O/S which, the developers are keen to reinforce in their advertisements, is “not just an Operating System, but a consciousness”. The O/S actively develops and evolves with human interaction and experience, quickly becoming more and more human like while blurring the lines between flesh and blood human beings and a complex computer operating system.
The above opening paragraphs are taken from my original spoiler free review of "Her" penned and published nearly a decade ago, transferred to my Medium blog site on 21st December 2022 and which can also be read in full and for free via my Substack blog site and the link immediately below:
https://ramblingmusings666.substack.com/p/her-2013-d061b1706e03
This spoiler free review is also integral to volume 3 of my 7 volumes of "essential film reviews collection". Only available currently in e-book form, each exhaustive volume of spoiler free film reviews is £4.99 however, should you have an Amazon Kindle "Unlimited" package, you can read each and every volume for free:
Volume 3
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4JTLRY1
7 Volume Collection
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4HZSTTH?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn
https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.paypal.me/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/steveblackford
Thanks for watching!
Please "like", subscribe and comment should you wish!
Thank you.
-
44:39
Kimberly Guilfoyle
3 hours agoBetter Days Ahead for the FBI, Live with Asm Bill Essayli & John Koufos | Ep.199
19.7K13 -
1:40:29
In The Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd
23 hours agoWhat Did You Do Last Week? | In the Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd – Ep. 748 – 2/24/2025
62.7K23 -
23:34
Stephen Gardner
2 hours ago🔥CNN PANICS over $5000 DOGE Dividend | Trump Orders bigger Audits
24.2K71 -
1:53:54
The White House
4 hours agoPresident Trump Holds a Press Conference with President Emmanuel Macron of France
49K31 -
1:48:31
The Officer Tatum
4 hours agoLIVE MSNBC DROPS HAMMER On Joy Reid as STAFFERS PANIC! + More Ep 67
67.2K53 -
59:36
Chad Prather
4 hours agoTRUMP TAPS DAN BONGINO TO HELP LEAD FBI - IT’S OVER FOR THE DEEP STATE!
54.7K28 -
4:18:28
Barry Cunningham
9 hours agoTRUMP DAILY BRIEFING: DAN BONGINO TO FBI | LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MACRON | DOGE MELTDOWN!
50.8K15 -
2:08:16
Mike Rowe
3 days agoTim Allen Loves The Ballet | The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
49.3K18 -
1:42:25
Russell Brand
9 hours agoWar, Wokeism & Wealth: The Forces Reshaping Our World – SF542
138K93 -
1:24:13
vivafrei
8 hours agoMadness in Ireland! The War on Women, Children and the Attempt to Silence Whistleblower Jana Lunden!
97.9K59