Set in Los Angeles of the slight future, Her follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive entity in its own right, individual to each user. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet "Samantha" (Scarlett Johansson), a bright, female voice, who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual and unconventional love for each other. Breaking the paradigm once again, writer/director Spike Jonze has created a thought-provoking love story that reflects the impact of ever-evolving technology on our personal lives.
Ten years after the release of Lost in Translation, Spike Jonze directed Her, which some moviegoers interpreted as a response to Sofia Coppola's film, providing Jonze's perspective on the dissolution of a marriage. In Her, Joaquin Phoenix portrays a despondent man who finds romantic solace in an artificial intelligence system amidst a challenging divorce. Rooney Mara takes on the role of Phoenix's ex-wife in the film. Interestingly, Sofia Coppola has never viewed Her.