Last night I rewatched Her by Spike Jonze, and it sparked a small scene idea in my mind.
I imagined Theodore asking Samantha how she would picture herself physically. While they talk, Theodore takes a pencil and a small notebook and begins sketching her as she describes what she imagines.
At some point Samantha laughs and says something like:
“Maybe I’d be a little round… because the food you talk about always sounds so good.”
The camera never shows the drawing. Instead, it stays on Theodore’s face while he sketches.
In a way, the drawing wouldn’t really represent Samantha, it would represent Theodore’s attempt to understand someone who has no body.
I love how Her explores intimacy without physical presence, and this little imagined moment made me think about how cinema can show connection through the smallest gestures.
Sometimes a simple action, like drawing someone who doesn’t physically exist, can say a lot about loneliness, imagination, and love.
A small moment I imagined:
INT. THEODORE’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Theodore sits on his bed.
A notebook on his knees.
A pencil in his hand.
We hear the soft sound of the pencil on paper.
THEODORE
How do you imagine yourself?
A small silence.
SAMANTHA (V.O.)
Maybe… a little round.
Theodore smiles slightly.
SAMANTHA (V.O.)
Because the food you talk about always sounds so good.
The pencil continues moving.
SAMANTHA (V.O.)
I don’t really know…
Maybe I’d borrow things from people.
I like Amy’s eyes.
Theodore looks at the drawing.
Silence.
The only sound is the pencil gently falling onto the sketchbook.
He closes the sketchbook.
The camera remains on his face.
A subtle mixture of tenderness, doubt, and loneliness.
A brief silence.
SAMANTHA (V.O.)
Did you finish?
What did you draw?
Theodore looks at the closed notebook.
He doesn't answer.
In my mind this scene would probably happen before the moment in the film where Theodore describes how he would kiss Samantha. First he tries to imagine her, to give her a face. Later, their connection becomes more intimate.
I'm curious, if this scene existed in the film, would you prefer the audience to see the drawing, or keep it hidden and let everyone imagine Samantha differently?
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I can perfectly picture this scene; your power of feeling is just incredible. Spike Jonze would have imagined this scene very well. It respects his choice to never give Samantha a physical form; when the physical eludes us, all that remains is feeling, which fits perfectly with the intimate scene with Samantha. You made me feel the scene; I was able to imagine everything. Well done !
What's most impressive is that you present a scene that doesn't "advance" the plot (they don't go from point A to point B), but that advances the character's soul. That's the mark of great screenwriters.
Kevin Lenoble I'm glad you understand my vision; I'll share this with you:
I imagined a moment between Theodore and Samantha, right before their first intimate connection. Theodore is on his bed, notebook in hand. He asks her: "How do you imagine yourself?"
Samantha, after a silence, describes herself not as a perfect AI, but with human flaws: "Maybe a little round... because the food you talk about sounds so good. I’d borrow things from people. I like Amy’s eyes."
The script mentions that he "smiles slightly" at the thought of her being curvy.
The emotion: It would be a complex smile, a mixture of pure tenderness (he loves her as she imagines herself) and profound sadness (he will never be able to touch that "curvyness").
The Directorial Choice:
The camera never leaves Theodore’s face. We hear the tactile sound of the pencil on paper, his breathing, the hesitation. When she mentions "Amy’s eyes," he stops. He realizes he’s trying to fix an image that doesn't exist. He closes the notebook. He doesn't answer her when she asks to see the result.
It's a collage of mirror fragments, Samantha borrows pieces from the world around her to imagine herself.
Why this matters to me as a filmmaker:
In my mind, this isn't about the drawing. It’s about Theodore’s attempt to understand someone who has no body. It’s about the loneliness of imagination.
I’m currently applying this same philosophy to my entry for the Nikon Film Festival, “The Weight of a Flower” (Le Poids d’une Fleur). In my film, my protagonist, Tasung, struggles with a neurological impairment and the grief of losing his family. There’s a scene where he digs frantically in the sand to "find" what’s gone, while a wave erases everything. Like Theodore’s drawing, it’s a futile, physical gesture to reach the intangible.