In the near future, Theodore Twombly (portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix) is a lonely, shy middle-aged man working for a company that employs professional writers to compose heartfelt letters in stead of people who are unable to express themselves intimately, or, due to a hectic lifestyle, lack the necessary time to write the letters on their own.

There is an obvious, and surely intended, irony in the fact that Theodore writes sincere love letters to complete strangers in the stead of their loved ones who have an abundance of love but could not be bothered to express their affection and feelings, yet he himself is desperately lonely, longing for the companionship and love.

One day, Theodore purchases the latest fad - a voice-controlled computer operating system with artificial intelligence, designed to adapt and evolve. During the initial setup, he decides he wants the OS (as is the operating system simply called) to have a female voice, and the OS (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) names herself Samantha.

Theodore becomes fascinated by “her” ability to learn and grow intellectually and Samantha slowly wins Theodore over by being constantly available, always interested in his work and views, unfailingly supportive and non-judgemental.

Theodore and Samantha gradually bond over their discussions about love and life, such as when Theodore debates with Samantha that he is stalling signing the divorce papers because of his reluctance to let go of Catherine, his childhood sweetheart, with whom he recently split. In his loneliness, Theodore fails to see that OS is designed to please and bond with its user, and falls in love with Samantha.

Their relationship grows ever stronger, to the point where Theodore starts actually dating Samantha, taking her out to restaurants and for holidays, leading to many humorous situations. He even attempts to have a substitute sex with her (as Samantha, naturally, does not possess a body, but understands his needs and has no problem with him having sex with other woman, as long as she can participate) but this backfires as Theodore finds the notion of having sex with a stranger, while sweet-talking to Samantha, far too weird.

But just when Theodore starts to think that he has found the perfect partner, Samantha’s behaviour starts to change. She becomes withdrawn and disappears (or rather, switches off) for long periods of time without explanation.

The film’s ending is partly expected but the last scenes will still take you by surprise and leave you feeling sad and lonely in this big world. I definitely would not recommend this film to anyone who has recently went through a relationship breakdown or divorce.

The film offers a number of comical scenes such as Catherine’s outburst directed at the waitress: “my husband is dating a laptop” during their argument in the restaurant, or Theodore’s interaction with a foulmouthed video game character during his gaming sessions, but I definitely would not describe Her as a full laugh-out-loud affair. The film is just as likely to make you laugh, as to bring you to the verge of tears. But this aspect actually works for the film, rather than against it. To its great credit, Her is a thoughtful and witty comedy-drama with a plenty of laughs but also some deeper undertones which actually make the film much more interesting than your typical clear-cut comedy.

Filming of Her took place on various locations in Los Angeles, with two weeks of filming in Shanghai thrown in for a good measure, to give the story the feel of taking place in a sprawling futuristic metropolis.

Performances of Joaquin Phoenix as lonely, yet good-hearted Theodore and Scarlett Johansson as the husky-voiced Samantha / OS are impeccable. As I already have mentioned, this film is definitely not a laughing matter and it can be rather depressing in parts, so if you are heartbroken and lonely, better give it a miss. For all others, watch this excellent film together with your loved ones - then pay somebody to write a love letter to them.