As anyone who’s seen Spike Jonze’s masterful “Her” can attest, nothing about the film should be taken on the surface. The sci-fi film is as original, telling, timely and modern as a romance can be these days, and the layers that build around it only make it stronger as a result. It’s both a very simple and a very complex movie by design, and in all the right ways. Even though Jonze’s fourth feature has been with us for a little over two years now, there’s still a lot worth dissecting, discussing and discovering. That’s where the newest video from Channel Criswell comes into play.
Titled “Her – Needs & Desires,” this 14½-minute breakdown explores how the film distinctly compares and contrasts from other romance fables, and ultimately what makes that more alienating and more human as a result. The visual demonstration of loneliness, the costume choices of lead character Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) and those surrounding him, the use of montage, the idea of want vs. need, the use of focus and out-of-focus — all these details and more come into play in depicting Twombly’s broken, lost soul. Though the use of editing, especially as a stream of thought, is heavily focused upon here, this video is less a groundbreaking uncovering of the film’s inner meanings and more a fond reminder of the film’s excellence, and why it remains such a striking, haunting depiction of love, longing, conformity, nonconformity and one’s sense of self through others, or the lack thereof.
It’s a thoughtful, meditative piece about an equally thoughtful, meditative film, and, like the film itself, well worth your time. Check out the video below.