Her

So far so good, actually. I loved this movie when it came out, then possibly didn't see it for a decade, while my opinion of it gradually diminished. Why does time favor certain things and diminish others? I associated Her with the romantic immaturity of that time in my life.

Seeing it now, it's actually clever. I doubt it'll prick me like it did then, but it's clever.

I'm only an hour in.

Continuing to watch... wow the emotions of the script and acting here are nuanced. It's starting to make sense why I rocketed it up to my list of 30 or so favorite movies back then after one watch. It has the honest feeling I craved then. Joaquin, Scarlett, Amy, and Rooney really do a nice job.

The downside of this film being so emotionally intelligent is the historic number of times a character says "...you okay?" Nobody got time for that. Sometimes it's just their job to express their concern or deal with it themselves. These characters are too caring! What a utopian dystopia. Maybe it's just Theodore's (Jonze's) circle that's so sensitive.

Back when I used to think I was so empathetic...

Theodore and Catherine talking over divorce papers felt so familiar, on an electrostatic level. This is not only because I've worked with delicate exes but because of Mara's performance. I didn't understand why she gave this movie half a mind until I saw that scene. Actually I had a similar experience with Amy Adams... didn't understand why she gave her humble minor character the time of day, in her lucrative career, until her breakup in the movie. Then she shines through the anti-makeup, glows through her glowdown.

I can't believe I'm saying this may be a great film. It would be way too on-the-nose if released today, but it shone prescient in its time; and even beyond the AI gimmick, the pathos is perfect. Slightly too sentimental for me, yet exact.

Is this how people felt with old cheesy movies though? That Gone with the Wind portrayed authentic emotion? It feels like Her actually does though, timelessly. It feels like good cinema is actually approaching emotional accuracy over time. We'll see how Her looks at 30.

Scarlett is actually my least favorite of the main performances. Maybe she tries extra hard to sound expressive, to compensate the absence of non-verbals and to amplify the uncanny fact that she's a computer, but it's actually too expressive. Exaggerated, almost childish in a few moments. Still mature in other moments though.

I finally finished, after a few sessions. Didn't love the ending. Things just got progressively sappier... didn't we already have a bummer conflict or two? isn't it usually one per movie?... and the resolution wasn't very emotionally satisfying nor very interesting. The premise permitted both, but the movie achieved neither.