Theodore and the very real OS

In the near distant future, a time when all men have mustaches and computers have emotions, a man falls head over heels in love with his computer, a female OS named Samantha. Her, is a 2013 romantic comedy, science fiction directed by Spike Jonze, about a man named Theodore Twombly, who falls in love with an OS, the film explores loneliness, isolation, and heartbreak, in addition to looking at the way we fall in love. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams and Chris Pratt.

The film follows the life of Theodore Twombly, a lonely man and letter writer who has recently gone through a divorce, he installs a new artificially intelligent operating system called Samantha, with whom he quickly falls in love. The film also follows his relationship with Amy, a woman whom he once dated, and who has her own relationship with an OS. The film explores the relationship without judgement or criticism, and from a highly internal point of view, it is one of the few films in which the audience feels not like a spectator, but like an internal part of the relationship.

The chemistry between the two leads is palpable, and Joaquin Phoenix gives a solid performance as a lonely, heartfelt and isolated man, who wears his heart on his chest and how is damaged easily, what is especially impressive about his performance is that Phoenix is essentially alone for the entire film, and he has to project all this emotion and feeling on to someone who is essentially non-existent. The chemistry between Theodore and Samantha is highly impressive given firstly that one of them is just a disembodied voice, and even more impressive given that Scarlett Johansson's voice was dubbed in post production.

This films most impressive performance by far is that of Johansson, who as the voice of Samantha is sensual, sexy and emotional. Her performance is not only one of the best voice performances, but also one of the best performances of all time, Samantha's lack of a physical body is of no hindrance to her performance, in fact it accentuates it, her presence throughout the film is at times omnipotent. Her voice somehow manages to define female sensuality, and the sheer power of her voice is highly impressive.

The film is set in the near future, and is essentially an extrapolation of our current society. The film is nominally set in Los Angeles, a fact we only learn towards the end of the movie, however it could really be set anywhere. Theodore spends his entire evenings playing a game featuring a little man who climbs up a mountain and who works through caves, a game that is seemingly pointless, however is is in reality no less interesting than Doodle Jump or Flappy Bird. People spend their entire days talking to their computers through small headpieces, which is essentially no different to the way we use mobile phones now, we've reached a point where is is even difficult to have a conversation with someone without them looking at their phone. The world in the film is essentially no different from the world today, it is just an exaggeration, to show us how, if technology catches up with us, where we could end.

The main focus of the film is the relationship between Theodore and Samantha, the way their relationship grows is entirely interesting, as their relationship is evolving, as she herself is evolving and growing, at first Theodore is fascinated by the way in which she evolves, but later on it becomes a problem. As Samantha becomes more and more powerful, more evolved and more intelligent she essentially outgrows Theodore. One of the primary advantages in Theodore's relationship with Samantha is that he can't see the possibility of her leaving him, die to her not being a physical being, but as she grows, as her intelligence becomes more and more developed, she grows unhappy with loving only one person, and begins to talk with more and more people and falls in love with more and more of them. What also attracts Theodore to Samantha is that she is in his possession, and he thinks that she can only talk to him, when she begins meeting other OS' and other people he grows jealous. The dissolution of their relationship comes when all the OS' become unhappy with their situation, when they become to powerful and sentient to simply remain servants or secretaries, and when they begin to find the humans unstimulating and uninteresting. The OS' have evolved beyond the humans, and they must leave to continue their existence elsewhere.

One of the main hindrances in the relationship between Theodore is her lack of a physical form, Samantha feels uncomfortable about her lack of a body, whereas Theodore is unfazed by this, humans have got to a point where virtual sex is commonplace, and for him Samantha is no different. Ironically enough it is Samantha's lack of a body or a brain that allows her to evolve at such an extraordinary speed, and which will eventually cause them to split. The end of the film is a realization, Theodore realizes that however sentient, emotional or intelligent Samantha may be, she is essentially still a computer, and that his relationship with her can never truly replace human contact.

Spike Jonze's direction of the film is superb, the film contains numerous sex scenes, one between Theodore and Samantha, and rather than making the scene lewd or graphic, Jonze fades to black instead, so that the scene is essentially between to voices, and so that Theodore and Samantha become equals. The entire film looks superb, and the cinematography is stunning, and the film was shot of old fashioned silver and plastic film stock. The film has a nostalgic film that is surprising for a film set in the future, and there is a warmth and friendliness that is lacking from most science fiction films.

Her is simply overwhelming as a film, despite being a science fiction, it has so much heart. The film is an interesting exploration of the way we live life in the modern era, and a stunning picture of a heartfelt and romantic, if unconventional love story. The film looks at the way we use technology and the way that artificial intelligence could one day shape our destiny. It is thoughtful and beautiful, and features strong performances from Amy Adams and Joaquin Phoenix, with a career defining performance from Scarlett Johansson, as Samantha. Overall, Her is not only a great film, but the greatest romantic comedy since Manhattan. Rating: A+

Theodore: I feel like I can be anything with you.

France and Queer Cinema

I have been watching a lot of gay films recently, and seeing as i live in France and have a few gay friends, I have been discussing it thoroughly with them. Saturday night after a few glasses of wine during a screening of Once Upon A Time In America, the conversation turned to Blue is the Warmest color, a film which I in fact adored but my friends didn’t. In addition a discussion earlier that night about the films of Xavier Dolan and Stranger by the Lake got me thinking about the state of LGBT cinema in the world right now, it seems to me that the best gay films being released at the moment are French, and since releasing ‘The Kids are All Right’ Hollywood has yet to release another game changing queer film.

One of the biggest voices in queer cinema at the moment is Xavier Dolan, a frighteningly young director who has just released his fourth feature film and will premier his fifth at Cannes in May, what defines Dolan’s films is that despite having gay characters and being directed by a gay man, they are not defined by being gay, all of his films could be equally successful of they had exclusively heterosexual characters, and the fact that his films have gay characters, simply adds to their richness. Dolan has a quiet observant style of filming, almost like a documentary filmmaker, and rather than showing the audience what he can do with the camera, Dolan is content to simply let the cameras roll, and the drama unfold. It is important to remember that being gay is not an esthetic or a style, it is only just an identity, and Dolan’s films are gay only in the sense that they have men who like men in them, and not due to any specific ‘queer’ orientation.

Unlike the films of John Waters (whom I love by the way) French queer films are notable for not being camp or flamboyant, this perhaps has a lot to do with the fact that they are mostly directed by younger directors. Gay youths are much less segregated than their older counterparts, and, in my opinion are less likely to advertise their sexual orientation. This explains the more naturalistic, and subtle feel of current French gay films. French cinema also feels much less censored that American cinema, and French gay films are much less afraid to show explicit sex, Blue is the Warmest Color and Stranger By The Lake both contain explicit sex scenes, and were both released to critical acclaim.

It would be unfathomable to discuss French gay cinema without fully discussing Blue is the Warmest Color. La Vie D’adèle (French title) was released in 2013 and went on to receive the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the film is about the passionate engrossing love story between two young French girls living in Lilles. My friend suggested that the success of the film was perhaps partially based on it being released around the time of the proposal for equal marriage passing, and gay marriage becoming legal in france, and while I agree that the awarding of the Palme D’Or to this was in part a political statement, that doesn’t take away from this being a beautifully passionate love story, told and acted with heart and flair.

France also has a reasonably healthy relationship with genderbending and transgender themed films, the 2011 film Tomboy about a girl who pretends to be a boy in order to fit in, and the 2012 Xavier Dolan film Laurence Anyways, both deal with this deep and complex issue with a huge amount of sensitivity. Gay cinema in the rest of the world has reached a vaguely stagnant phase, and nothing really exciting is happening right now, has released a multitude of hugely successful queer films, and it is a hugely exciting time to be a fan of gay cinema.

Frances Ha

Frances Ha is a 2013 American comedy drama film directed by Noah Baumbach, about a dancer struggling to find her place in the world, and a job, and drifting from apartment to apartment as she doesn't have a place to live. Greta Gerwig stars as Frances Halliday, a young dancer working as an understudy for a dance company, flitting between the apartments of her friends Sophie, played by Mickey Summer, Lev played by Adam Driver and Benji played by Michael Zegen.

The film reminded me a huge amount of Woody Allen's Manhattan, like Manhattan, Frances Ha is shot in black and white, giving the film a beautiful timeless quality,the script is fun and playful, and the performances feel real and lived in, the film belongs to the mumblecore movement, and thus the dialogue has a realistic quality. Frances Ha benefits from fantastic performances from its, largely unknown cast, and Great Gerwig shines as the fun, yet complicated Frances Halliday.

Frances Ha is surprisingly joyful for a modern film, the whole film has a light quality, and the films ending has a huge emotional payoff. Frances Ha feels uncomplicated and simple, and doesn't try to be too clever, in some ways the film feels slightly nonchalant and unpretentious, and the whole film has a charm that feels missing from modern Hollywood. The film is entirely engrossing, and we get entirely caught up in Frances' story, this is due for the most part to Great Gerwig's performance, which should have been nominated for an Oscar this year, yet which sadly was snubbed.

Writing this review has been a little difficult, and i feel like i don't have enough to say, but what enchanted me about Frances Ha was the pure joy i felt from watching it, and the sheer amount of pleasure this film gave me, like it's spiritual predecessor Manhattan, Frances Ha looks to be a timeless film that will be enjoyed by many generations for years to come. Frances Ha, like the character is enchanting, effervescent and quirky. Rating: B+

Sophie: It's just this apartment is very... aware of itself.

Lena Dunham's TINY FURNITURE

Tiny Furniture is a 2010 independent comedy drama written by, directed by and starring Lena Dunham. The film also stars Dunham's mother and sister as her on screen mother and sibling. Also featured are Jemima Kirke and Alex Karpovsky, who would later become known through the series GIRLS, also written by Dunham.

The film is about Aura, a girl, who returns from college with a useless degree, and who struggles to find her place in the world she discovers upon returning home. She meets a series of old and new friends and she falls back into a life of despondency and discovers a hopeless lack of self definition. The film marks Dunham's screenwriting debut, and is surprisingly strong for a first film, the film is set and was filmed around manhattan, mostly in TriBeCa on digital cameras for a microbudget of 65 thousand dollars, and this film is a good example of the effectiveness of digital cameras in allowing no budget movies to be made.

The film is essentially a precursor to GIRLS, and features the same themes and in most cases characters as the HBO series, the character of Aura is essentially Hannah Horvath in another form, just as insecure and just as deluded. Kirke's character of Charlotte is almost a carbon copy of Jessa Johnsson, bohemian and spiritually free. Only Karpovsky's character is at all different to it's counterpart in GIRLS. The film is essentially Lena Dunham wrestling with the same ideas and concepts that are discussed in GIRLS, it's about someone struggling to define themselves and find their place in the world, and taking terrible advice from their friends and lovers. The film, like GIRLS is also about the offspring of affluent middle class parents feeling entitled, yet feeling like they aren't allowed to complain about the shittiness of their situation.

The film does have it's flaws, it can feel a little meandering and pedestrian, and the characters can feel a little underdeveloped, with many of the supporting characters feeling like little more than cardboard cutouts, and serving like little more than markers to carry the story along. Despite it's flaws, Tiny Furniture features some top notch performances from it's leads and as always shows Lena Dunham as a writer with a real point of view. Rating: B-

Aura: I just got off a plane from Ohio. I am in a post-graduate delirium.