December is traditionally viewed as the time for studios’ most fitting awards season offerings, but this year the hopefuls also happen to be some top filmmakers’ most singular and personal films yet, including work from the Coen Brothers, David O. Russell, and Martin Scorsese. One of the most narratively and visually daring of these though is Spike Jonze’s “Her,” which depicts a futuristic romance between Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson’s disembodied voice. In the lead up to its release this week, we’ve got a slew of clips to show exactly what we mean.
Dense with a number of ideas on relationships in a social media age and surprisingly deft in exploring them, “Her” has captured our imagination ever since we first saw it at NYFF and called it “disarmingly funny, insightful and empathetic”. And you can catch a glimpse of all those aspects in four new clips from the film, two of which show the quiet interplay between Theodore Twombly (played by Phoenix) and his OS1, a Siri-esque device voiced by Johansson, and two others that see the reactions of Theo’s friends (Chris Pratt, Amy Adams) to his relationship.
There’s also a brief smattering of Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett’s score behind Phoenix and Johansson’s performances in all four, but see for yourself below, along with a new TV spot. “Her” opens in select theaters this Wednesday, December 18th, before going wide on January 10th next year.
