Her

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Overall rating: 4 stars

Thoughtful, oddly poignant and well cast, Her is a suitably pleasant, mature look at society, even if the ending isn't quite nourishing enough to satisfy.

Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is an introvert, still upset over a previous relationship and unsatisfied with his personal life, until he mets Samantha, an OS (operating system) designed to evolve like a human. They bond, with their relationship taking many twists and turns along the way.

There's been a lot of hype about Her, a sort-of-sci-fi dramedy by Spike Jonze. Indeed, Jonze won a Golden Globe for his screenplay, with Oscar noms for Best Picture and Original Screenplay. This is well-deserved, as it's some of Jonze's best work. Despite its many accolades, I would have loved to see a nomination for Scarlett Johansson's fantastic voice performance - but that seems much too radical a move for the Academy. This aside, the rest of the cast are just fine, with Joaquin Phoenix giving a sweet turn as the lovestruck divorcee.

The entire affair is very lovely, with a droll undercurrent and subtle message for us. It seems almost like a soft dig in the ribs of society, in the quirky way only Spike Jonze can manage. It's gently cutting, almost perhaps a bit too safe. There were more pockets of Jonze's story to explore, with the lacklustre ending feeling unsatisfying in particular.

The score is just as whimsical as the humour and I wouldn't be entirely surprised for Her to win Best Original Score on the 2nd March.

All this said, I cannot see it win Best Picture. Despite being Jonze's most thought-provoking work to date, with great set design and a superb cast, Her failed to live up to the masses of hype I've heard about it, instead it seems to be a thoughtful but far from excellent look to the future.