Under the Skin (2014) Directed by Jonathon Glazer. Starring: Scarlett Johansson. IMDB says: “An alien seductress preys upon hitchhikers in Scotland.”
I love films that present you with a singular viewing experience. It might be bizarre or disorienting or shocking but when it’s well done there’s nothing quite like it. Under the Skin is weird and enigmatic with an art house feel that’s sure to make it divisive. I didn’t find this film pretentious, but I can see others labeling it so with ease. There’s little dialogue and even less insight. You’re really left to come up with your own explanations for many aspects, although a fairly clear narrative can be devised without much trouble.
Scarlett Johansson plays the only main character in the film in possibly her finest role yet. She is an alien who picks up single men and uses the false promise of sex to essentially abduct their bodies for a mysterious purpose. Her ability to communicate with humans is limited to this sole assignment, both by her capability and watchers who clean up any mess and supervise her activity. The longer she spends on Earth and especially a unique interaction cause her to examine humanity in a different way and maybe even try to inhabit it.
The first half of the film has a slow, deliberate pace as she continuously picks up these men. There’s a gradual reveal to what happens during this abduction process that includes some extremely interesting effects that were impressive, especially when paired with the scary, intense score. The second half of the film picks up a bit as it breaks the monotony and features many intriguing moments as she experiments with being more human (I am intentionally vague, but trust me I could talk about the moments extensively!). The ending is especially one of the most horrifying I’ve seen.
Director and co-writer Jonathon Glazer has no interest in telling you anything specific. It’s all show here, and while that made for dynamic filmmaking, there’s also some frustration there. It mostly stems from how interesting you can imagine the details of this story to be. The novel is much more straightforward from what I’ve read (it could easily be a summer sci fi blockbuster) and has a clearer message. I’m grateful though for how far it strayed from the source material to deliver this strange but beautifully unique film.
I knew very little about Under the Skin before watching the film. I knew enough to intrigue me, but also make me somewhat cautious about how weird it was going to be. Thankfully, the weirdness took more of a discernible artistic direction and seemed to avoid being strange for the sake of it.
That isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have some unusual aspects. It is just that everything comes together to give the movie a really interesting tone. The movie initially reminded me of The Man Who Fell to Earth, but quickly developed its own niche. The score was perfect for the film. I would often wait to hear certain parts of the music to start back up again while watching it because it was so entrancing.
The movie does have some drawbacks even if you are into this type of film. The narrative is really shown through visuals and they boil down into visual art pieces most of the time. I enjoyed this because I felt like I was able to think up a pretty solid idea of what the story was trying to tell without them getting in the way. The visuals leave it open enough that you can interpret the story how you want and they’ll fit with it.
Scarlett Johansson is great in her role. The last few movies I’ve seen her in have been Marvel Universe movies, which are a lot of fun, but it was nice to see her play a role so different from that and previous roles. She is really the only big name in the movie and is on screen most of the time, but takes this role on effortlessly.
You can see that the director, Jonathon Glazer, was trying to make a movie that you don’t see every day, and I think he pulled off a unique and engrossing film. You may have to come in with an open mind and let it draw you in, but if you do the film offers a lot.
