Mark Kermode reviews Her 

I thought Her had a ton of heart and emotion.

Imo one of the greatest romances of all time, extremely insightful and genuine

I disagree. I was touched by every moment of the film. Maybe just 'cuz I've been lonely in a foreign place for a while...

Could not disagree more. I was 100% involved in the movie. It made me feel real emotion towards a god damned operating system. In no way did I feel that the movie was dispassionate. I laughed, I cried. I think it’s a masterpiece. But each to their own.

I adored this film and thought it was a masterpiece, but you guys attacking Mark for not being crazy about it need to relax big time. You seem to think that a film critic is some sage with infinite wisdom and knowledge who will validate or invalidate a film by presenting some kind of biblical essay on its flaws and positives. A critic is nothing more than someone who is knowledgeable in film and is paid to talk about their opinion on a certain film. Mark gave his opinion, if you loved the film and enjoy it when you watch it then why the hell should Mark's opinion bother you? Do you like to think that you could be his super best friend and you two could serenade one another with why you both love the same films on a romantic Venice boat trip? Mark isn't you and he doesn't know you, leave the man alone.

I very much disagree. One of the best movies of the decade so far. Great performances, beautiful cinematography, really great script, very interesting story,beautiful score by Arcade Fire and wonderfully directed by Spike Jonze.

This film left me in tatters. I was surprised how fast I got past the fact it was an operating system. By the end I was thinking about the futility of love. Really touching and sweet film. It's gonna stick with me for a long time.

I'm shocked at Mark's review for this film. I cried more times than I would like to admit. I was so moved. Instantly became one of my favourite movies.

The film reminds me somewhat of one of Charlie Brooker's 'Black Mirror' episodes called 'Be Right Back'. The episode is essentially about how a woman in her late 20s deals with the recent death of her boyfriend by using a new technology that uses the boyfriend's e-mails, tweets, texts, Facebook messages and statuses in order to mimic the speech and behaviour of a deceased person in the form of a phone call. As she starts becoming obsessed by it, things escalate when this information and behaviour is upgraded from a phone call of the deceased boyfriend to a bio-robotic doppelgänger of him that you can buy and live with.

Her is one of my favourite films ever made. I just released a video on the underlying philosophy behind her and how it represents Wittgenstein's ideas of attraction - please check it out if you are interested, any feedback would be appreciated!

This movie is amazing. It's a fully engaging and 100% believable exploration of what it is to be human and our desperation to connect with others, balancing drama and humor with perfect timing and context. The depiction of the future was perfect because it was subtle and just familiar enough to be relatable, but the thing is that I honestly could see stuff like this happening within my lifetime. (Namely, our protagonist works for a company that writes love letters for other people.) The concept is so timely yet avoids being odd or unintentionally comical because of the direction and actors' awareness of the subject matter. The acting is amazing across the board; Joaquin Phoenix is perfectly cast and captures every emotion perfectly and Scarlett Johannson creates a character with only her voice without issues. That wouldn't be particularly impressive if the film was animated, but she's the leading lady and is never shown, but has just as solid of a presence. The whole film's production is well done: landscapes, subtle wardrobe changes, scenery, and technology, and the people the inhabit it are, again, so realistically shown. Everything bridges the gap between now and then, but this film is more human than any other. This film unfortunately did not open in a wide release until January 10 in America so it couldn't make it onto my Best of 2013 list, but rest assured, this WILL be on my Best of 2014 list. 9.5/10, incredible, two thumbs up, far above average, etc.

I absolutely loved this film.

I could not disagree more. Maybe it's because being in a LDR at the time made me feel more connected to the movie, but I felt like the movie was VERY emotionally grabbing on a gut level. Favorite movie of the last 5 years for me.

Just saw this on Film 4 and thought it was an astounding piece of work, and totally disagree that it was emotionally uninvolving. The politics can be read into as much or as little as you like - personally, I considered the characters and the emotion of the story, which was entirely believable, enough to carry me through, without having to really think about it too much as a out-and-out satire. Rather than the whole relationship with the phone argument, I read it more as an exploration of what humanity and consciousness is, and if one can have a truthful relationship that is totally beyond the physical. And I was totally unaware of Samantha Morton's initial involvement, which may well have affected my viewing experience. I think Mark could benefit from a repeat viewing, this and Under The Skin might be Johansson's best work.

What? Kermode you are as cold as ice. I was deeply moved by the story and characters.

I would be interested to know whether Mark was aware of the casting change before going into the movie... I expect so from this rather odd perception of the film. I have to say it hurts a lot of Marks reviews, he often has way to much information going into a movie which can totally change how he perceives it.

Director Spike Jonze delivers A rom com that is comparable to cult sci-fi classics as it has warmth, humour, style & A decent story & overall one of 2013’s best films. (98%) (5/5 stars) (positive)

I saw her and I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Adams and Phoenix were amazing, and I'd say Johansson is vastly improving as an actor, as her voice was engaging and emotional throughout. I wasn't aware of the Samantha Morton fact before going into the cinema, and yes, I would've liked to see how that was if any footage ever gets released. It reminds me of the whole dubbing of Gina Carano's voice in Haywire (Again, I wasn't aware of that when I saw the film).

""When we shot, we initially had cast Samantha Morton [in the role]," Jonze said at a Q&A following Wednesday night's AFI Fest screening of the film. "So Samantha was really involved in giving Joaquin [Phoenix] a lot...to work from. And then when we got into editing, we realized that what Samantha and I had done together wasn't working for what the character needed, and so we ended up having to recast at that point in time" That is what Jonze said in an interview. I read somewhere that he thought Morton's voice was too motherly and not representing the feelings between the two characters in the way he wanted.

My opinion is Its design that way! You are correct in saying "but maybe thats the point"

I'm surprised that Mark didn't mention Hal in "2001 a Space Odyssey" when he references other films.

I think the reason the film didn't really "click" with Kermode the way it has with most people is that he's still caught up in the premise and by comparing it to other films with similar plots he doesn't really give the story room to prove itself. This is pretty evident in how he spends so much time talking about previous films that have "done this before" and that the most he talks about the actual film is within its premise. I think the emotional detachment he felt with the film is almost entirely due to himself not being compelled into it by its face value.

Mark Kermode, you hit the nail on the head with the last sentence of your review. But you kept missing it with everything you said before that last sentence. So, now, as you said, it is about a guy who fell in love with his mobile phone! How lonely, emotionally closed and deeply sad, one has to be for that to happen!? Joaquin Phoenix plays this deeply unhappy guy who has enormous problems with emotional connection with other people. He is shy and has always been misunderstood, and does not know how to reach to others, nor how to respond to emotions of other people. He hasn’t got a problem with ‘closure’ as you suggested, he does not want to let go, because he loves his wife and needs her, too, but for the all tea in China, would not open up emotionally to her now, nor could he do it during their relationship. Neither of them is happy about the divorce, but they got stuck in his silence and emotional inertia. And it seems, like the only ‘person’ who can get through to him, is this operational system, who is not a real person, therefore hasn’t got needs of its own (at least to start with). It is a system which is based on his own consciousness. It has access to him, because it doesn’t put anything in question, the system IS HIM, just externalised, as a voice of the interacting operational system in his computer. Samantha’s all attention is directed onto him, his feelings, his needs, and has enormous amount of patience and time (computing capacity), to unravel his feelings, to understand him and the most intimate part of his personality, to guess at his emotional needs of being approved of, loved and never judged (a case of benign narcissism). You mentioned as well, that the idea of ‘virtual girlfriend’ is not new. And perhaps it isn’t entirely. But Spike Jones made a film, that in its sci-fiction theme is also very much realistic in our future and that is why it is so captivating and emotionally engaging. Portraying the humanity relying more and more on electronics, living their life in virtual world/worlds, being emotionally handicapped, detached from other humans, dressed in candy coloured clothes, working in splendid interiors, practising politeness, but no real inter-human emotional contacts. This is happening already. Mark, please re-watch the film, and notice the overwhelming emotions in it - Phoenix’ character’s excruciating loneliness. The emotions and passion lies in portraying the world without them, and making us, viewers nostalgic for the disappearing humanistic world, scared of loosing that world, with its human connections, and being replaced by the shiny computers with sexy voices. (PS. I too, would love to hear the version with Samantha Morton!)

Cried during this movie didn't cry watching fault in our stars though, this is my favorite romantic movie

I don't really agree. Yes the concept has been played out before, but I felt there was more to the movie than just the human-A.I. relationship. It was about the journey he made, the way he approached his relationships. He learned to love again and he was on the path to make the same mistakes with the A.I. he made with his ex-wife, i.e. the not expressing himself. But he didn't, he grew. And later she outgrew him. But he didn't become stuck like he had become after his divorce. He moved on with his life... with the downstairs neighbor.

It would be really cool if you could choose which celebrity played Samantha on the disc or whatever. Personally I’d love a version of Joaquin Phoenix falling in love with the voice of Janet street Porter.

I actually agree, I felt that the film was rather dispassionate. I couldn't connect with Samantha or the relationship. I thought the ending was a bit of a cop out. The film was beautiful to look at though, so well shot.

I disagree. I was very touched by this film. It isn't just about some guy's relationship with his computer. That's the imdb squib if anything. No. This movie is about what a relationship consists of. What the common pitfalls, expectations, traits, etc. define a romantic relationship. Its by separating out the human counterpart and by placing the viewer in an abstract situation where all that exists is a connection rather than physicality. Its about the fundamental connection and chemistry that exists at the heart of romantic relationships. I deeply connected to this probably b/c I've been in a LDR for some time now and in the end its some kind of connection/intangible feelings that matter most. This film had great use of flashbacks, music, and metaphor. It was great.

Gotta say, when there's a scene where the screen goes to black, I laughed my ass off, it was just too ridiculous.

I somewhat agree about the "coldness" of it - but I'd have to say it is the sci-fi "falling in love with an artificial human" story that is closest to reality - all of it seems like it's around the corner and could happen at any time tomorrow. In fact, it seems as though the movie is going to make itself come true very soon. I also liked about the movie that it can be watched with different attitudes - Theodore could be taking Samantha as an actuall artificial being or just be fascinated with the enormous realism and poetry the artificial Samantha-character displays. Her was to me definitely one of my absolutely favorite movies over the past years.

it depends on how you look at the film - I found it to be one of the very very few really intelligent sci-fi films in years.

I disagree completely with Mark on this, but I have no problem with his opinion. What I have a problem with is how he keeps mentioning and praising Samantha Morton (who is of course a brilliant actress) and doesn't say a word about Scarlett Johansson's extraordinary vocal performance. Morton's work must have been great as well, but Johansson was just incredible.

please start creating playlists again, or at least the entire show as one video! :)

I couldn't disagree more about the emotional connection.

That was so cool. I only heard of Robot And Frank about a week ago, and here Mark is talking about it. I'm hoping to see it soon, it looks really strange but funny.

Loved this film and I became much more emotionally involved than Mark did. I thought Theodore and Samantha's developing relationship was beautifully realised and the portrayal of people feeling disconnected from the rest of humanity is very current. But, in the end, I think the film is about far more than a man falling in love with his operating system. To me, it's much more about the next step of evolution and whether having a flesh-and-blood body and brain will be essential to being sentient, self-aware and able to feel emotion. I know these themes have been explored in other movies, but I felt Jonze's film was a beautifully made, wonderfully acted and a quite different take on the subject.

Becomes more and more relevant every year.

I agree with most of the commentors, think Mark got this one wrong, for me this was film of the year, it resonatated in so many ways, it felt fresh, new, different. I remember there's a bit in it where Theordore is telling his co-worker about dating his OS and you expect the usual set of boring dialogue where he has to explain why it's normal and not that weird etc, and the co-worker just looks and is like "oh right" without a concern. It's also one of if not the only film I've ever seen where the "future" is convincing, where there dosent have to be a scene with lots of flying cars so we know it's now the future we're looking at. Also Mark goes way too far when he says "and the gag is she leaves him", if I'd been told the films about a guy who falls for an operating system and then she out-grows him I'd be very angry when I did watch it as the majority of the film it feels like he will leave her and there's to be a not very happy ending for her. Brilliant film, poor review.

I'm a big fan of Morton too but not to the extent that I can say whether she would have improved the film or not. I watched just now having forgotten the publicity for the film and not knowing I was listening to Johansson. I thought the voice was amazing and I was quite surprised when I finally looked up who it was.

the best film of 2013. I dont know what you're talking about Mark. Not emotionally involving?? what?

The protagonist being aged around forty years, white, middle-class, male, a divorcee, makes this unusual. A version with actress Samantha Morton's voice? That would be good.

I want a Mark Kermode SatNav

A deeply poor review, whatever your feelings on Her it deserves to be talked about more than Mark does here. Didn't even mention Mara and Adams, barely talked about the film and didn't really seem to get it.

This is one hell of a brilliant film, totally surreal and yet a really deep love story ... A must see !!

I really loved this film. It also opened up some very interesting ideas which I think will come to pass as AI increases in it's sophistication and we develop humanoid robots.

And eternal sunshine of a spotless mind

Wow, he mentioned Electric Dreams! I haven't seen that movie in 30+ years

This is the first review i've seen that points out that falling in love with a thing has been a subject done a lot. This is something weird that i see a lot of reviews not pointing and then they go on to treat this movie like is the most innovative thing in the last 10 years.

Her is a masterpiece.

I also disagree with this review - go and watch it and make your own mind. An excellent movie, even though a pretty "basic" storyline with EXCELLENT soundtracks, especially the end. You will not regret it!

It's a film you have to watch more than once. It grows on you, a bit like eyes wide shut

best film of 2010s so far

Mark is wrong this film was brilliant

I respect your view Mark, but, I just can't see where your coming from

I watched the first 10 seconds over and over again for a good few minutes.

did he just criticise a movie for having a hollow relationship where the film is meant to be about a hollow relationship.

In the advert for OS 1 it's explained that each one is a consciousness. There's no surprise there Mark. It was explained very clearly before hand. Pay attention.

Who remembers Electric Dreams, this film somehow reminded me of that excellent 80s comedy. I disagree with Mark's critique I loved this film and the world created by this movie seems very tangible. I will rewatch it.

I swear there was a This American Life episode that was the plot of this film.......

I have a feeling Mark watched a completely different film by accident because Her is nothing short of emotionally powerful and a true gut punch of a movie. Really hope that he reassesses this someday.

I went to see this film with my girlfriend, went up to the desk and said "I'd like two tickets for Her, and one for me please"!

Make another review on HER, you missed the mark on this one

Emotionally uninvolving Mark? Seriously, if there is a criticism you could level at Her this is not it. The doctor seems not to have connected to this film in the way that many other people have.

I think he has a point here. The love story about a man falling for a robot/andriod etc has been done and done well. The theme of men getting far to engrossed in the screens they look at has been done as far back as David Cronenberg's Scanners, so unless this is providing something different, then what's the point? All we are seeing is an updated version of the same thing, nothing more. Having said that, for decades now film makers like Kubrick, Cronenberg, Ridley Scott, James Cameron have been showing us the dangers of getting too reliant on technology, but the warnings haven't been heeded, so maybe it's time for this generations' 'Don't trust the future!' film?!

Mark, you make fun of Joaquin Phoenix's name one more time, you are going to be known as Mark Commode! (but never mind...you are a brilliant critic)

I really liked this film......nicely tender and surprisingly funny. Meanders a bit too much as it moves towards a conclusion imo but overall I thought it worked. Also Amy Adams and Rooney Mara are great and could've done with more of them, but I understand that it's not about them. Nice shout out for Robot and Frank though, absolutely loved that film :)

I enjoyed the movie and thkught it much better than what was wrote on the back of the dvd box

He was on point and then he started rambling about the voice actor.....

I need to see this film.

I didn't recognize he is the Joker

did anyone else have people laughing at scenes in the movie that weren't meant to be funny? The audience I was with, there were people chuckling during the final, serious and moving scenes.

I agree with him, he didn't say but Scarlett Johansson messed up the movie.. Her voice is lame and I wish her to stay in superhero movies and doesnt screw up great movies anymore.

I agree here. Didn't really like it either. It kind of runs through a lot of common romance things. It says some interesting things, but it just says them. It's also surprising that it actually does fairly little with the fact that Samantha has no physical form. They have sex pretty early on with absolutely no problem. The one line that kept returning in my head was from the Matrix: "You think that's air you're breathing?" I also kept thinking: It's completely irresponsible to start selling an AI operating system to people.

Biggest problem with Her as a film is it didn't need to be a film at all. The actual story is nothing more than a conversation between two people, one of whom is incorporeal. It could have been a radio drama and all the bloom-filled, Ikea furnished locales that the film has add nothing to the story.

If you liked this try Chobits.

This is a fantastic movie, Scarlett did a wonderful job

I normally avoid romance movies like the plague, but I really liked this movie. It was really interesting and I felt equally bad for both main characters.

Did anyone else find this film overly sentimental with a lot of cheesy dialogue and an overcooked score? It certainly wasn't the subtle and nuanced piece of art I was expecting from Jonze.

Also, Her is not a satire. It's a romantic drama about how we relate to machines more and more and to other humans less and less.

mark is off the "mark" on this one. i went in not expecting much and the film blew me away. the cinematography was the weakest factor to me not because it was at fault it was a bit too "shimmering" for my taste. although at times it did well in my opinion in making the environment appear a bit ethereal which played into the whole artificial theme. i think samantha is johansen's best performance yet. which brings me to question if she should have been doing voice acting all this time. the score is awe-inspiring. phoenix's monologue at the end of the film was executed with a brilliance highly reminiscent of brando himself (not in style or similarity) but just the subtle power of their performance when expressing a particular thing for example brando in apocalypse now when he conveyed the story of the violence in the village. phoenix has grown into a 8/10 actor or higher. the master for 2012 and now this?? wow just wow. great work.

Well acted, decent script. Good look at the future. But a bit too wish-washy and pretentious

Sorry Mark, You are dead wrong, This movie is great

2:59 Shush Mark. Speak not of that!

Whacking Phoenix

Pseudo intellectual Verbal masturbation doesn't hide the fact that you just didn't get this film, Marky. No mention of Alan Watts appearance either?

Ffs stop banging on so much and just tell us if its any good or not!!!

whackin' Phoenix

Her and Ex Machina are instantly comparable... and I must say I thought Ex Machina was easily the better of the two.

whackin phoenix

I might see this but I am not a fan of Scarlet Jo.

This guy is way off

the movie is pretty clearly an allegory for Buddhism, so the fact that it feels "passionless" might be intentional.

Wacking Phoenix. lol

"Samanther"

too long

Couldn't get into this. Felt a bit wet or insipid.

whacking phoenix lol

Yeah, Joaquin Phoenix talking to a screen. Zzzzzz...