Joaquin Phoenix isn’t an actor that relies on his looks to get him through roles. That said, he also isn’t known for changing his looks up for a part, even if he’s playing a famous cultural figure like Johnny Cash.
For Spike Jonze’s Her, Phoenix shows off a new look while diving into his character. Much of Phoenix’s character as well as the actual plot of the film has been very vague in its initial descriptions.
The synopsis of Her is as follows :
“Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely writer, purchases a newly developed operating system designed to grant the user’s every command. To Theodore’s surprise, a romantic relationship develops between himself and the operating system.”
We can say that the film features a cast of talented actors, including Chris Pratt, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, and Olivia Wilde, and the voice of Scarlett Johansson. Johansson had replaced Samantha Morton , who was originally cast in the role. She takes on the role that Phoenix’s character falls for, but it’s not that simple, because she’s not our definition of “real”. She’s an artificial intelligent operating system.
When asked about the film this summer, Jonze had this to say :
“It’s a movie set in the slight future of L.A. and Joaquin Phoenix’s character buys the world’s first artificially intelligent operating system. It basically turns into a human, this entity, this consciousness, on his computer.”
Sounds like a film that has a lot to say about how we view tactile relationships, and the relationships we have with our technological devices. Let’s face it, we may be a few clicks away from having an interactive computer system, that feels just as real, but Phoenix’s character just has the advantage of having the soothing voice of Scarlett Johansson’s for his system.
Although the concept may not be for everyone, we can definitely sign up for Her given Jonze’s talents and the cast line up.
Check out the trailer for Her below and tell us what you think.