I actually saw this movie a couple weeks ago and I've been meaning to write about it, but never did. Part of the reason is that this movie and the previous (The Double), are not so easy to assign a rating and pass off. They're visual feasts that I wouldn't recommend to many people, but both have many merits that make them worth seeing for different reasons. Under the Skin is a movie by Jonathan Glazer, who deserves every distinction that names him an heir to the Kubrickian style. Plus, anyone that attempts to direct a foreign accent onto Scarlett Johansson has to get some applause.
Scarlett Johansson plays an alien seductress who lures on men in Scotland. It's funny to me that she blatantly drives around in a white pedo van to achieve this. Although I'm often divided by Johansson's performances, Glazer seemed to understand that this movie plays to her strengths: looking bland, looking naively bewildered, and looking seductive. Nailed it.
You can't really come into this movie expecting a strong story or to be driven one way or another. The movie takes its own pace at a molasses smooth pace, allowing you to construct your own ideas, or to be opened to some astonishing textures. Glazer does a great job of allowing us to experience the world through totally alien eyes, playing on lights and allowing us to tangibly feel what Johansson does - her fingers on the fur coat, the assault on her senses in a dance club, and more. In one scene, a character gives himself a sharp pinch in order to ascertain through touch the reality of the situation that he's in.
The best advice I've heard about the movie is this: if you watch the trailer and you like it, you'll most likely enjoy the movie. Johansson does so well mainly because her character and her face don't give anything away for most of the movie. And I think that's the strength of Glazer's film as well -- very little is revealed on the surface, but it gives you a lot to interpret and chew on mentally afterwards.
Also, worth noting is that the following picture resulted from this movie:
Scarlett Johansson plays an alien seductress who lures on men in Scotland. It's funny to me that she blatantly drives around in a white pedo van to achieve this. Although I'm often divided by Johansson's performances, Glazer seemed to understand that this movie plays to her strengths: looking bland, looking naively bewildered, and looking seductive. Nailed it.
You can't really come into this movie expecting a strong story or to be driven one way or another. The movie takes its own pace at a molasses smooth pace, allowing you to construct your own ideas, or to be opened to some astonishing textures. Glazer does a great job of allowing us to experience the world through totally alien eyes, playing on lights and allowing us to tangibly feel what Johansson does - her fingers on the fur coat, the assault on her senses in a dance club, and more. In one scene, a character gives himself a sharp pinch in order to ascertain through touch the reality of the situation that he's in.
The best advice I've heard about the movie is this: if you watch the trailer and you like it, you'll most likely enjoy the movie. Johansson does so well mainly because her character and her face don't give anything away for most of the movie. And I think that's the strength of Glazer's film as well -- very little is revealed on the surface, but it gives you a lot to interpret and chew on mentally afterwards.
Also, worth noting is that the following picture resulted from this movie:
Johansson was shooting a scene for this movie when some paparazzi captured this shot, creating perhaps one of the best memes of the year.