Over the week, I had the satisfaction of watching two tales of melancholy told by great filmmakers. Naturally, neither of these movies made me feel happy, but they both managed to be memorable works of art that will be discussed for a long time.
While watching the new science-fiction drama “Her,” I was reminded of a movement sparked by Spike Jonze’ film “Being John Malkovich,” that seemed to climax about a decade ago with Michel Gondry’s, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Maybe this wasn’t a movement, but there is a level of heavy magical realism present in “Her” that has been so very absent in movies for too long.
It is a very relatable and personal film, while set in a near future where humanity is even more fused with digital social media. A new operating system has been released that contains the first artificially intelligent assistant for consumer use. A lonely man (Joaquin Phoenix), painfully going through a divorce, loads the new OS, which runs him through a few questions to specify a compatible personality. This results in Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), who is maybe “more human than human,” to quote a great sci-fi movie. The man and the operating system become close and eventually fall in love.
Yes, of course it’s weird and some people will walk out of the theater, as they did during the show I attended. Many daring movies have this effect. It is very thought-provoking and those many thoughts will either be entertained or ignored depending on what ideas intrigue you. I find it impossible to ignore that this film accurately portrays what technology is continuing to do to us and what relationships have always done to us.
What makes this movie so absolutely admirable is Jonze’s handling of the concept, which could go in so many typical directions. Jonze is too mature to turn his first solely-written screenplay into a technophobic horror -or comedy film (“Electric Dreams” comes to mind). He isn’t criticizing our increasing dependence on technology. He may be embracing it but shows us how weird we are becoming.
Phoenix’s character works for a website that employs writers to create “beautiful handwritten letters” and find words for the personal lives of others. This movie, like many great futuristic science fiction stories is exploring the idea of technology picking up our humanity when we’ve gotten to lazy to take care of it.
“Inside Llewyn Davis” is a gloomy film from Joel and Ethan Coen about a couch-surfing folk singer, wandering Greenwich Village in the early-sixties. Llewyn is an unpleasant man whose musical talent is going nowhere since the suicide of his singing partner.
While side characters are played by the likes of Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, F. Murray Abraham and John Goodman, Davis is played by the less famous, Oscar Isaac. He is an unusual choice, given the kind of star power the Coens can normally summon. I think it helps this character to have a face for which we have little to no preconceptions, aside from his resemblance to Lenny Bruce, which works with his rude nature.
This film, like many efforts from the Coen brothers, sits comfortably in the middle of rich detail-driven entertainment and the alienating mystery of inside jokes and odd stylistic choices driven by their odd intuition. It’s a very well shot film and is their first, in very long time, to not be shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins. Bruno Delbonnel (“Amelie”) shoots this film with the coldest color pallet possible.
The music, produced by T-Bone Burnett, is the highlight of the film experience, with very well produced songs reflecting an era that must have seemed like less-explored territory for a new film.
It is a darkly funny, sad, and beautiful film. I also don’t know what it means. I recommend it just as much as “Her.” I need to discuss these movies with someone. Go see them. We’ll meet for coffee or something.
Bennett Duckworth is a film fanatic who lives in Louisville and goes to see a movie in the theater at least once a week. He has kept a movie review blog since September of 2011 with the mission of writing about every new release he sees, as well as new trends in filmmaking and classic films he loves. You can read more of his reviews at www.bennettduckworth.blogspot.com.