The Hyper Humanity of Her

I had been unable to avoid the hype surrounding Her; Spike Jonze’s new exploration of love in the future. Various posters and reviews splattering a constant 4-star rating, were coupled with articles about the prophetic use of tech and the retro-future cinematography. Suffice to say, when I sat down to watch it I was prepared to be disappointed.

I wasn’t. It delivered an evocative visual journey through a world where advanced technology is merged seamlessly to exist as an extension of human behaviour. The performances are delicate and poignant, always reminding us of the role humans play in this world of interactivity.

Yet away from all the tasteful tech and languid tones, there was a beautifully painful amplification of the human condition. Growth in a relationship is essential, yet fears arise when progress feels like a distance between two people. This visceral and very ‘human’ fear is subtly woven beneath the primary ‘can man love machine’ story arc. The resulting emotion is surprising and overwhelming, it’s like loneliness on steroids. These ‘Hyper-Feelings’ are a powerful storytelling device as they provide us with a vehicle to go beyond our emotional limitations.

As many people have already mentioned, this is a very well crafted film. That said, I feel it’s true merit lies within it’s humanity. It’s ability to convey personality in the sterile world of technology and use that world to take our most defining human attributes to previously unfelt levels, is something to marvel at.

Lorenzo Fruzza
Designer
@Lorenzofruzza