Film Forum

U.S., 2013
Written and directed by Spike Jonze
With Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pratt
WINNER, Academy Awards® – Best Original Screenplay, 2014
Approx. 126 min. DCP.

“The premise of Spike Jonze's self-penned modern romance seems like business as usual, as Joaquin Phoenix's soon-to-be divorcee finds unexpected happiness with an operating system (OS) tailor-made to put him at his ease. Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly, a twitchy, tortured soul hiding behind tortoiseshell spectacles who holds down a day job ghostwriting personalised (e-)letters for those unable to put their emotions into words. Faux intimacy is Theodore's stock in trade, yet he falls for the seductive skills of an electronic office organizer that reads him like a book — and offers unquestioning allegiance in the wake of his failed marriage to independently minded Catherine (Rooney Mara). One minute Theodore is having functional conversations with his OS about cleaning up his inbox; the next he's having the kind of cybersex that has proved the preferred method of interaction for isolated online lovers the world over. But, as Theodore grows in confidence, so too does the self-named Samantha, the infinite portals of the virtual world enabling her to become so much more than the sum of his parts.” – Mark Kermode, The Guardian

Reviews

“A singular exercise in imagination, almost a postmodern pastoral.”
– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)

“Transcends its own ingenuity to achieve something akin to wisdom.”
– The Atlantic

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