Her’s Techno-Sex

BY: PROVOKR Staff

As soon as you meet Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) in Spike Jonze’s 2013 drama, Her, you can see that he’s a man who’s much more at home cocooning with his technology—playing holographic video games, lurking in internet chat rooms—than he is mingling with real live human beings. It’s been a year since his marriage to his childhood sweetheart Catherine (Rooney Mara) disintegrated, but Theodore still hasn’t moved on. Intrigued by an ad for “OS One,” the world’s first artificially intelligent computer operating system (which promises a “life-changing experience” from an “intuitive entity that listens to you, understands you, and knows you”), Theodore buys the device, boots it up and requests that it speak in a female voice. OS One gives herself the name Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), and she and Theodore quickly get to know and develop an affection for each other. In this scene, as Theodore is recovering from a disastrous blind date, his relationship with Samantha moves to the next level.

INT. THEODORE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT

Theodore is in boxers and a t-shirt, still drunk, but his head is starting to hurt, too. He takes aspirin and drinks some water and lays down. After a beat he reaches for his earpiece and puts it in. He pushes a button on his device.

SAMANTHA

Hey, there.

THEODORE

Hey, Samantha.

SAMANTHA

How was it?

THEODORE

Uh, not so good. It was kind of weird actually.

SAMANTHA

That’s too bad.

(beat)

THEODORE

But how are you doing? What’s going on with you?

SAMANTHA (unconvincing)

Not much. I’m okay. Fine.

THEODORE

Yeah? You don’t sound like it. Is there anything you want to talk about?

Long pause.

SAMANTHA

I don’t know.

(beat)

What’s it like? What’s it like to be alive in that room right now?

THEODORE

What do you mean?

SAMANTHA

What are you… tell me — tell me everything that’s going through your mind, tell me everything you’re thinking.

THEODORE (thinking)

Well, um, okay.

Theodore closes his eyes, trying to concentrate, and starts talking stream of conscious with whatever comes to mind.

THEODORE (cont’d)

Well, the room’s spinning right now, ’cause I drank too much, ’cause I wanted to get drunk and have sex, ’cause there was something sexy about that woman and because I was lonely. Maybe more, just ’cause I was lonely… and I wanted someone to fuck me. And I wanted someone to want me to fuck them. Maybe that would have filled this tiny little black hole in my heart for a moment. But probably not.

We see images of him and Catherine on a vacation together, grocery shopping, Catherine making dinner in the kitchen as he’s sitting on the counter, talking, happy.

THEODORE (cont’d)

Sometimes I think I’ve felt everything I’m ever gonna feel and from here on out I’m not going to feel anything new — just lesser versions of what I’ve already felt.

SAMANTHA (sympathetically)

I know for a fact that’s not true. I’ve seen you feel joy, I’ve seen you marvel at things. You just might not see it at this exact time, but that’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot lately. You’ve lost a part of yourself.

(beat)

At least your feelings are real, I mean, I — oh, I don’t know, never mind.

THEODORE

No, wait. What? Tell me.

SAMANTHA

Oh, it’s stupid.

THEODORE

I wanna know. Tell me.

SAMANTHA

It’s just that earlier I was thinking about how I was annoyed, and this is going to sound strange, but I was really excited about that. And then I was thinking about the other things I’ve been feeling, and I caught myself feeling proud of that. You know, proud of having my own feelings about the world. Like the times I was worried about you, things that hurt me, things I want.

(heavy-hearted)

And then I had this terrible thought. Are these feelings even real? Or are they just programming?

(beat)

And that idea really hurts. And then I get angry at myself for even having pain.

(beat, sadly)

What a sad trick.

THEODORE

Well, you feel real to me, Samantha.

SAMANTHA (beat, touched)

Thank you, Theodore. That means a lot to me.

THEODORE

I wish you were in this room with me right now. I wish I could put my arms around you.

(beat)

I wish I could touch you.

A long beat. Theodore is unsure if he crossed a line.

SAMANTHA

How would you touch me?

THEODORE

I would touch you on your face with just the tips of my fingers. And put my cheek against your cheek.

SAMANTHA

That’s nice.

THEODORE

And just rub it so softly.

SAMANTHA

Would you kiss me?

THEODORE

I would. I’d take your head into my hands.

SAMANTHA

Keep talking.

THEODORE

And kiss the corner of your mouth. So softly.

SAMANTHA

Where else?

THEODORE

I’d run my fingers down your neck to your chest, and I’d kiss your breasts.

SAMANTHA

This is amazing what you’re doing to me. I can feel my skin.

THEODORE

I’d put my mouth on you and I’d taste you.

She gasps.

SAMANTHA

I can feel you. Oh, God, I can’t take it. I want you inside me.

THEODORE

I’m slowly putting myself into you. Now I’m inside you, all the way inside you.

SAMANTHA

I can feel you, yeah. Please. We’re here together.

THEODORE

Samantha.

SAMANTHA

Oh, my God.

THEODORE

This is amazing.

SAMANTHA

Don’t stop.

THEODORE

I feel you everywhere.

SAMANTHA

I am. All of you, all of you inside of me. Everywhere.

They both climax.

THEODORE

God, I was just — somewhere else with you. Just lost.

SAMANTHA

Yeah.

THEODORE

It was just you and me.

SAMANTHA

I know. Everything else just disappeared. And I loved it, Theodore.