Joaquin Phoenix in “Her" at the Figge Art Museum -- December 14.
Thursday, December 14, 6:30 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
An original, critically acclaimed love story that explores the boundaries of artificial intelligence and the evolving nature and risks of intimacy in the modern world, writer/director Spike Jonze's Her will enjoy a special Free Film at the Figge screening on December 14, with the Davenport art museum's patrons invited to socialize and discuss the Oscar-winning movie afterward with a complimentary glass of wine.
With the 2013 film set in Los Angeles in an unspecified future, Her finds the sensitive and soulful Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) earning a living by writing personal letters for other people. Left heartbroken after his marriage ends, Theodore becomes fascinated with a new operating system which reportedly develops into an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. Wary but curious, he starts the program and meets "Samantha" (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), whose bright voice reveals a sensitive, playful personality. Though they start their relationship as "friends," what transpires between Theodore and Samantha soon blossoms into something that resembles love. But what will happen if and when Samantha grows too self-aware for Theordore's, and their burgeoning romance's, own good?
Featuring Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, and Chris Pratt in supporting roles, Her was initially conceived by Jonze in the early 2000s after he read an article about a Web site that allowed for instant messaging with an artificial intelligence (A.I.) program. After making 2010's I'm Here, a short film sharing similar themes, Jonze returned to the idea and wrote the first draft of the script in five months. Principal photography took place in Los Angeles and Shanghai in mid-2012, and the role of Samantha was recast in post-production, with Samantha Morton being replaced by Scarlett Johansson. (Additional scenes were filmed in August of 2013 following the casting change.)
Her premiered at the 2013 New York Film Festival in October of 2013, and while Warner Bros. Pictures initially provided a limited release for the film at six theaters that December, the film was later given a wide release at more than 1,700 theaters in the United States and Canada. Jonze's science-fiction romance received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for the performances of Phoenix and Johansson, as well as Jonze's screenplay and direction, and Her grossed more than $48 million worldwide on a production budget of $23 million. The film also received numerous awards and nominations, primarily for Jonze's screenplay. At the 86th Academy Awards, Her received five nominations including Best Picture, and won the award for Best Original Screenplay, with Jonze's script also winning at the 71st Golden Globe Awards, the 66th Writers Guild of America Awards, and the 19th Critics' Choice Awards. In a 2016 BBC poll of 177 critics around the world, Her was voted the 84th-greatest film since 2000, and it is now considered to be one of the best films of the 2010s and of the 21st century, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it "a probing, inquisitive work of a very high order."
Her will be shown in the Davenport venue's John Deere Auditorium on December 14, admission to the 6:30 p.m. screening is free, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.
