The trailer for the new Spike Jonze film, ‘Her’ was recently released for the movie-hungry public to see. It stars Joaquin Phoenix who plays Ted, a lonely, divorced writer who develops an unlikely relationship with the new operating system on his computer. This movie will surely ask the question, can computers actually be a substitute for humans?

An Intuitive Operating System

The operating system, which claims to have been designed to meet his every need, communicates with him through an attractive sounding female voice named Samantha. Samantha and the operating system has been designed to be intuitive and respond to the needs of different people in different ways, which makes each user’s experience seem unique. The voice of Samantha is played by Scarlet Johansson.

Samantha is similar to Siri, the Apple personal assistant that is available in many iPhones and iPads. Since her voice sounds so human and less mechanical than some computerized simulations, it’s easy to think that someone could imagine that he were speaking to a person and not just some software on a computer. Indeed, it sounds as if it’s a fascinating premise for a film.

A Star-Studded Cast

The film also stars Amy Adams, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde. Adams’ previous work includes Man of Steel, The Master, Julie and Julia and Doubt with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Phoenix also appeared in The Master and gained him a nomination for Best Actor for an Academy Award. He has also appeared in Walk the Line and Gladiator. Some of his future projects includes The Immigrant and Inherent Vice.

Jonze’s last film was his 2009 production of Where the Wild Things Are. He also directed Adaptation starring Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper, and Being John Malkovich which stars John Cusack and Cameron Diaz. Mara’s previous movies are Side Effects, The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Wilde’s previous films include The Change-Up and Butter. Already fans are looking forward to this film. The film has also gained some attention for a possible Oscar, mainly due to the stars and the unusual story.

Can Computers Really Replace Humans?

This is the question this film seems to be addressing. Can computers replace human contact? Years ago in 2001: A Space Odyssey we saw the computer HAL who developed human intelligence. Computers do many things for us. They can provide us with information, entertainment and they can also help us remain in touch with other people. But can they also provide us with love? It’s an interesting question.

The film is classified as science fiction and in fact, this is the kind of story that we might expect to see on The Twilight Zone. It does seem mostly impossible that something like this could really happen – but who knows? New advancements are made every day, especially in the world of computers. Fifty years ago there were no such things as digitial recorders, cable TV or the internet. All we can say for sure is that technology continues to move forward at a staggering speed, and perhaps ‘Her’ will be a taste of the future.