'Her' - Movie Review

By Claire Osborne and Cameron Wood

How do relationships fall apart?
 
Warped desires? Unrealistic expectations? Or perhaps communication breakdown?
 
According to Spike Jonze's new film titled Her our relationships are not just with someone of the opposite (or same) sex. It appears we will soon interact with computers should they have the ability to communicate and think.
 

Disheveled, heartbroken and sporting a trim moustache - which signifies that he's probably one bad day away from a breakdown - writer, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is coming to terms with his divorce from his childhood sweet heart. No amount of work, friend's advice or coaxing, video games or pornography seems to satisfy nor fill the hole that remains after his wife left him.
 
So naturally he turns to new technology. In this familiar dystopian Los Angeles there are OS (Operating Systems) which will meet all your needs. After purchasing an OS and installing it on his computer, Theodore comes ear to ear with 'Samantha' (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), who possesses a sense of humour, is intelligent beyond anything Theodore has experienced, has desires and develops 'her' own feelings.
 
When at one point in the film Theodore questions the nature of his relationship with Samantha, whether in fact it is a real relationship, friend Amy (Amy Adams) rebuts with a "life's too short" line.

But in this day and age, how do we define what a 'real' relationship is? It appears we've reached the point where technology and social network has so changed our lives that relationships are not what they were (or even appear to be). Is this what Jonze is critiquing? If indeed he is critiquing our eyes-on-screen culture? Through obscure voice calls, interactive video games and even with Thedore's job, there's layers of deception and escapism which lines Jonze's dystopian film. Theodore works as someone who writes - no, speaks - love letters for other people to use! It's incredible how naturally we are introduced to his bizarre job in the opening scene. It's entirely believable and there isn't any need for your typical exposition in the opening scenes. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema captures this story well, using the same sense of tone that he applied so perfectly in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.


"He couldn't deal with me, tried to put me on Prozac and now he's in love with his laptop!" - Catherine on Theodore
 

The strength and charm of this film lies in the director's clear vision of what Theo's world encompasses. In many ways we find ourselves in Theo, checking his email on the way home from work, sticking earphones in his ears for a little 'alone time', and seeking someone to share his thoughts with. After all, the most beloved people in our lives are those who we feel are prepared to "just listen". And the futuristic premise sets the stage for the love story between man and computer. But without its relaxed tone, methodical build up, oddly familiar futuristic sets and quirky style - look out for the pants! - the love story would likely be lost. And it's in Theo and Samantha's initial conversations that we are truly drawn in to the story. Until this point there's some Jonze-esque dark humour, but no real catch.

Like any relationship, though, there are some heartbreaking moments in Her. Theo's inability to understand and process his marriage with Catherine (a spectacular and mature Rooney Mara) leads us to the tissue box and has us remembering our "first love". But it is Theo's attachment to Samantha which truly grinds the heart strings. It has to be seen - or perhaps heard - to be believed.
 
Phoenix and Johansson bring two distinctly different styles to the film. Phoenix's roles are often louder and darker, but here he's able to strip it down and portray a quiet American. Whereas, Johansson is a bubbly voice and doesn't even have to show off her million dollar body. She's in career best form and surely should be considered a fine dramatic actress with the ability to make us laugh and cry. Amy Adams and Mara Rooney play the supporting acts so well and really help to create the dramatic tension between Theodore and Samantha.

Jonze's Her doesn't necessarily answer the question of how relationships fall apart, rather it appears the director questions what a relationship is and what they are based on. 

You be the judge.
 
                                                   Her: 8/10

                         Him: 8.5/10

'The Turning' - Movie Review

To check out my published review of The Turning check out the April edition of Empire magazine Australia.

Daring, convicting and above all relateable, this adaption of Tim Winton’s best-selling book of short stories is a thought-provoking and important study of life, longing and discovery.
 

Split into seventeen sections, all of which have different directors and casts – some without dialogue or narration – this may be the closest thing we come to seeing the (unconformed) written word on screen. Through the camera’s fluid motion we watch lives and the world unfold. The timeless themes of loss, justice, good and evil, and awakening are evocatively and creatively presented. There’s also a spiritual battle underlining the sections, something which comes directly from Winton’s repertoire.

Particularly moving is Claire McCarthy’s The Turning, where an abused, raped and broken wife (a career-best Rose Byrne) is led to Christ and finds healing through a chance meeting at a caravan park with a gracious and “turned” woman (Miranda Otto).

It is a big ask of creator Robert Connelly (Balibo, The Bank) to piece together all these stories over three hours, without a stringent narrative to tie the ambiguity together, but it is this artistic freedom which gives the production edge.

 
Like an art exhibition, different pieces will speak to different people. Watch and discuss.

9/10

 

'Labor Day' - Movie Review

Just when you thought you had Jason Reitman worked out, he comes out with his most mature and dramatic film to date, Labor Day. In previous films, Reitman’s characters have possessed unsavoury qualities. His characterisation has often been unique, leaving us to work out how he is able to make unlikeable character likeable.

Set during the 1987 Labor Day weekend in New England, we immediately meet the one who we assume must be Reitman’s next unlikeable character, Frank (Josh Brolin), an escaped fugitive. After stalking his prey – an unstable mother (Kate Winslet) and her 13-year-old son (Gattlin Griffith) – in a Pricemart, Frank demands their “assistance” in getting him out of the store and into safe hiding. After surrendering to Frank’s demand to take him back to their home – it’s at this point that we imagine the worst – we soon find ourselves in uncharted waters as Frank is not the angry and violent man we had picked him to be. Instead of threatening, Frank is charming. And instead of abusing, Frank displays the tender care Adele (Winslet) has not known for too long. But with Frank nursing injuries and hiding out, what is one to do with a convicted murderer on the run?

What turns out to be most memorable about the film (based on Joyce Maynard’s novel) is what the character of Frank brings to the mother and son’s lives. There’s a point when you ask yourself who the real prisoner of this tale is. The answer proves to be Adele and it isn’t due to the fact that she’s being taken “hostage”. Her home has come to resemble her isolation, and as Frank helps fix up the house, so he helps mend the heart of this scarred woman. She’s desperate for the touch and love of another person but can’t manage to break free of past hurts. 

John Henry Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience came to mind as I watched and thought about what it means to be a prisoner. For Frank, a jail cell doesn’t necessarily take away freedom, whereas for Adele, existing outside a cell doesn’t necessarily grant freedom. Instead, freedom is something to be found within and full credit should go to Reitman (who wrote and directed the film) for making us engage with these thoughts.

It becomes inevitable that Frank and Adele, two shadowy figures, would fall in love. It is odd how the romance develops – the seductive baking scene will test your feelings and remind you of a certain pottery scene in Ghost – yet there is no denying the ability of the film to make us feel. We can’t help but get behind these three characters and the deeper we delve into Frank and Adele’s flashbacks – his leading to incarceration and hers to miscarriages and the betrayal of her husband – the more we believe that this love is predestined.

 

Reitman also has an uncanny sense for casting. Winslet is a no brainer, given that she is perhaps the finest dramatic actress of her generation – I was reminded of her forceful performance in Revolutionary Road – but Brolin is a surprisingly superb choice, as he possesses a burly look, which is then counteracted by his soft, caring demeanor. Yet, it’s the perfect casting of Gattlin Griffith as Adele’s stoic son which gives the film its heartbeat. Tobey Maguire narrates the film as an older Henry, but Gattlin brings a real emotional edge to the film. Constantly, we feel pulled in his direction and one of the most heartfelt scene centres around Frank teaching Henry how to improve his swing. And just like Ellen Paige was able to capture the quirky character of Juno, Gattlin gives a mature performance as a son who has had to grow beyond his years so that he can look after his agoraphobic mother.

What also proves to be a masterful stroke is the choice to rid the film of an antagonist. It was awful of Adele’s husband (a pitch-perfect Clark Gregg) to leave her but he isn’t your typical “bad husband, bad dad”. No one is without back-story, complication, regret and struggle.

Some will find the film unbelievable as Frank’s character goes against the norm and the romance is, well, odd. If you can work your way past the baking scene, however, you are in for a powerful ride.

Isolation, freedom and predestination. Labor Day works less with Reitman’s comedic flare and more with the struggles of life. It’s a strange love story, but one we ought to believe can take place. So, care for a slice?

7/10