I M Here By Spike Jonze: Film Analysis

The short film, "I'm Here", created by Spike Jonze, is a cautionary tale--more specifically, a warning to young well-meaning couples beginning to dwell into the realm of co-dependent relationships. Nevertheless, the story cannot be defined within a neat sense of black and white terminology, it’s obvious that there is some sort of sacrificial aspect happening between the protagonist, Sheldon—especially noted when he starts to give away his parts to Francesca until he is nothing but a lonely head. But, it’s also obvious that Francesca never forces him to do such, even telling Sheldon when he is trying to give her his leg to forget about it, it all pertains to Sheldon’s own desire to provide—most likely to compensate for his own lonely secluded life prior to him meeting Francesca. Once she comes into his life, he does everything in his power in order for her to be alive, even dreaming about such, “I had a dream last night, where you lost your leg, and

It possesses you. You lose your sense of self. You can't stop thinking about another human being”. Sheldon is a classic example of this addiction in action—love changes him, both in good and in bad terms—especially, in regards to the quote above, his “willingness to take enormous risks to win [Francesca]”, and his resulting loss of self (again, literally!) is an effect of such co-dependence on his part. His obsession with having her in her life to make his own worth something to him destroyed him in the end—a healthy relationship would have consisted of mutual participation, from both sides, but Francesca never gets the chance to give much back to