Movie Review: Her, Directed by Spike Jonze

Human beings love technology. We walk down the street, cradling a smartphone in our hands as if it’s a baby squirrel. When we can’t find our phone, we feel panicky, abandoned, exposed. And we’re increasingly encouraged to think this way. Consider those recent Apple ads: “Until every thing we touch enhances each life it touches.” But so far, that adoration is unrequited. Her, a thought-provoking film written and directed by Spike Jonze, opening in limited release on Dec. 18, asks a simple question: What if technology loved you back?

Most movies botch tech in one of two ways: They either go way too far into the future, turning it into fantasy, or they just plain get it wrong. There’s no Google customer-service number, even if there is one in The Internship; satellite trucks don’t use ISDN lines, Tony Stark. Oh, and while we’re at it, you can’t dial a satellite phone indoors, World War Z people.