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Community Run Forums for Starship SF › Passenger Information › Advanced Projection Information Appraisal › HER - Spike Jonze

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HER - Spike Jonze (Read 7873 times)

Dec 20^th, 2013 at 3:35pm

L.A. Connection Offline
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Nice symmetry with the MARATHON booking of the very 80s ELECTRIC DREAMS take on Computer love. Spike Jonze's HER is a very modern romance in this age of twitter, facebook, Siri etc. Set in the near future, Joachuin Phoenix plays an about to be divorced dot.com worker who ends up "falling" for his personal computing Operating System Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).

It's a very low key, but scrupulously designed (K.K. Barrett) near future with seductive photography (Hoyte Van Hoytema) and music (Arcade Fire, Karen O etc). It's very stylishly done, but, a bit limited in its scope. The A.I. element is presented in a natural way, but, the meaning and consquences are more alluded to than explored. And, the ending is pretty obvious early on. Not to mention that it's brought about by the biggest and most literal Deus Ex Machina the screen has seen in a long long time!

Phoenix holds the screen in a captivating way (large chunks of the movie are essentially tight shots of his face as he talks to his cell phone). Spike Jonze (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ADAPTATION) certainly has a way of presenting the unusual to the screen in a believable manner. A bit more ambition wouldn't have hurt, but, this is worth-while movie.

P.S. The brouhaha over Scarlett Johansson getting awards attention is absurd. It's a nice vocal performance, but can hardly be compared to the tough physical rigors of actual movie production. It's one thing to get up at 5am drive to the location, go through make-up/hair/wardrobe, interact with the Director/Cast/Crew for 12-15 hours often in difficult locations and quite another to hop in a limo and spend a few days in an air-conditioned sound studio wearing your jammies.

No other actor has ever gotten this kind of attention for a vocal-only performance in the history of cinema. If Scarlett weren't: A. Famous. B. Hot -- she wouldn't have either. It's not even the best female acting in THIS movie - Amy Adams gives a much fuller performance.

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Reply #1 - Dec 23^rd, 2013 at 3:45pm

Jay Seaver Offline
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L.A. Connection wrote on Dec 20^th, 2013 at 3:35pm:

The brouhaha over Scarlett Johansson getting awards attention is absurd. It's a nice vocal performance, but can hardly be compared to the tough physical rigors of actual movie production. It's one thing to get up at 5am drive to the location, go through make-up/hair/wardrobe, interact with the Director/Cast/Crew for 12-15 hours often in difficult locations and quite another to hop in a limo and spend a few days in an air-conditioned sound studio wearing your jammies.

Why should that matter? The award is (or should be) for the results, not the means by which they are achieved.

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Reply #2 - Dec 23^rd, 2013 at 4:15pm

L.A. Connection Offline
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As someone who has both done some acting as well as been around actors for decades, there IS a distinction.

And, I've talked to several very well known, award-winning actors who ALL describe voice-acting as much easier. They also consider it a "holiday" from the daily grind of you know....actual acting.

Would you consider what say Tim Allen did in TOY STORY as in way on earth similar to DeNiro's performance in RAGING BULL? Of course, not. Everybody would say that was ridiculous to put them up at the Oscars against one another.

But, because Scarlett is famous AND hot - she should get preferential treatment?

And, in the case of HER, it's doubly ridiculous for Joachin Phoenix actually performed on set with SAMANTHA MORTON - not, Scarlett.

Jay Seaver wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2013 at 3:45pm:

L.A. Connection wrote on Dec 20^th, 2013 at 3:35pm:

Why should that matter? The award is (or should be) for the results, not the means by which they are achieved.

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Reply #3 - Dec 24^th, 2013 at 12:49am

Jay Seaver Offline
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You're setting up a strawman there - of course I'm not going to argue that someone should get preferential treatment because she's attractive, so stop framing it as that. It's dishonest and I suspect you know that.

Except in rare occasions, every performance is going to be done under different circumstances, and while many actors may consider voice acting a vacation (and sometimes you can tell they treated it that way from the results), I don't see how that matters. I can only judge the finished product, and whether it was easy for the actor or not is irrelevant.

Quote:

Would you consider what say Tim Allen did in TOY STORY as in way on earth similar to DeNiro's performance in RAGING BULL? Of course, not. Everybody would say that was ridiculous to put them up at the Oscars against one another.

Well, no, although not for the dismissive reasoning you're using, but because the performance there isn't uniquely Allen's to the extent that the other belongs to De Niro. If I had a chance to remake the standard groups of awards categories, I'd probably include one for "best composite performance" so that a character like Buzz could be honored for the work put in by both Allen and the character's lead animator (although from watching the credits, I gather Pixar doesn't necessarily assign those the way Disney does). I think as we see more mo-capped/CGI characters (and, hopefully, more great animated films), this is going to be a necessity because its an achievement worth rewarding that doesn't fit neatly in either acting or visual effects categories.

But - on the one hand, that's not the world we live in; on the other, "Sam" seems to be a fairly unique case for being just the voice rather than a voice and a visual element. Right now, if someone thinks that Johansson's performance merits an award or consideration, that's the category it best fits in..

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Reply #4 - Dec 24^th, 2013 at 1:24am

L.A. Connection Offline
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Jay, I honestly didn't mean it that way, and it was most certainly not directed at you.

What I should have made clear is that I think the majority of folks who are clammouring for an award for Scarlett would NOT be doing so if Scarlett weren't:

A. Famous

AND

B. Look like Scarlett.

I can't imagine the very same performance done by an "ugly" actress that wasn't famous getting anywhere close to this kind of chatter

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