Wanted to dedicate my last blog post of the year to the film ‘Her,’ which I saw few weeks ago. I’d been interested in this movie the more and more I heard about its premise. A lonely man (Joaquin Phoenix) in a near future LA falls in love with his self aware OS (Scarlett Johansson in voice-only) written and directed by Spike Jonze. What’s not to like about that casting? Was I disappointed?
Absolutely not. ‘Her’ as a film was all but perfect, probably one of the best sci-fi films I’ve seen in 2013. Phoenix and Johansson and created compelling and sympathetic characters, especially the latter who again had only her voice to create the evolving OS named ‘Samantha.’ As the relationship grew, encountering the expected its ups and downs, rarely did it feel strange that one of the participants was not human. Kudos to Johansson for breathing such life into what could have been a robotic and monotone role.
At times you want to kick Joaquin Phoenix’s character for being such an indecisive sad sack, but then again he beautifully conveyed the pain of ending a once loving relationship (he is divorcing his wife played by Rooney Mara in the beginning of the film.). And as Samantha continues to evolve and gets to know the needs of Phoenix, you believe in and find yourself rooting for their very unorthodox relationship.
Other aspects of ‘Her’ that worked well were the aesthetic and world building. The lighting at times was soft with almost faded pastel colors. It added to the slightly surreal and futuristic feel of the film. As for the world building, while we don’t know how far in the future ‘Her’ takes place, we see a very different Los Angeles from its current incarnation. The skyline includes more skyscrapers, many similar to those in Chicago, NYC and even Hong Kong skylines. Technology in this future has a very clean and simplistic look, and is of course portable.
A pervasive them is how disconnected the populace in ‘Her’ is, everyone talking on their ear devices but never to the person right next to them. In short, I loved the film and would recommend it to anyone. For non sci-fi fans I would strip it down to its core. Two lovers from different worlds trying to make their relationship work in a post-modern world. Boom!
Quick story updates. Got all of the feedback from my first beta reader. Again, they liked the book and had lots of good critiques. Another beta reader is hoping to be done by the beginning of January. I also locked down the cover artist I wanted! Yay! He’ll hopefully be able to start on my eBook and print covers once his schedule opens up in January.
On a last note, I churned out one more short story before the year’s end, which was a bit more difficult but rewarding in terms of the message I wanted to convey.
More updates to come in the new year. New sci-fi short story and films below! Enjoy your New Years!
Sci-Fi Short Story:
A wonderful short story “Mystic Falls” by author Robert Reed.
Short Film: The Flying Man:
A mysterious flying vigilante takes a more extreme stance on crime.
Leave a Reply