Its hard to believe that Her is only Spike Jonze's second feature film after Where The Wild Things Are in the eleven years since Adaptation. Her was definitely worth the wait though and is arguably Jonze's greatest cinematic accomplishment to date. His first film as a solely credited screenwriter Her is a heartbreaking exploration of the growing sense of isolation that is engulfing humanity as our relationship with technology transforms the way we relate to each other. The irony being that it is the dualistic divisive-yet-unifying nature of social media interaction or the seemingly never ending channels of communication that have now opened up, which keep us separate whilst bringing us closer together. One of the most poignant and affecting scenes in Her occurs when Joaquin Phoenix's character realises that not one person on the crowded city street he is walking down is communicating with each other, instead they are all in conference with their operating system. If it wasn't so close to what you'd see walking down any street today it would still be a moving and powerful scene but given that it offers such a critical comment upon real life so succinctly it is elevated to being one of the key socially reflective moments in contemporary cinema.
As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars.
Follow me on Twitter @DrRobertOtnik