Her

The mope-y romantic that Joaquin Phoenix plays in Her is the direct opposite of his Freddie Quell from The Master, yet this is no less of a tour-de-force performance. Spike Jonze's graceful Her offers up a near-future metropolis where humans have fully integrated with their personal technology, living lives seemingly ruled by creature comforts, yet still mired in human fears and frailties. In an attempt to fill the void from a recent separation, Phoenix's Theodore Twombly purchases a brand-new OS1, the world's first artificially intelligent operating system. Voiced by Scarlett Johansson, OS1 promptly sets about organizing Theodore's life, but his disorganization is largely emotional, and she evolves to meet his needs so efficiently that they begin to fall in love. Ultimately, Her develops into a kinky and affecting meditation on love's limitless potential, and the human limitations which keep that potential out of reach.