Under The Skin
I have to admit that this film has some very good spots and some very bad ones. Director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) definitely gets points for trying something original with this one, but not quite sure it’s for everyone.
The plot is that an alien(Scarlett Johansson) takes the form as a human and pretty much goes around Scotland trying to seduce men into her dark lair where they get enveloped in some sort of gooey underworld where they lose their skin.(I am only assuming it is so the aliens can use the skin to pose as humans on earth?) Sound insane? Well, it pretty much is! Yet, I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
Johansson is wonderful in a role with hardly much dialogue. Say what? Yes, the whole movie pretty much forces you to watch and think along with the storyline as words are very hard to come by. In some places, the story does drag on too long and I found it a bit repetitive at times,(Especially by the third seduction, I was just wishing for the movie to get on with it.) And can I just ask why no men questioned the eerie surroundings and lack of lights in the places they went?(I mean Scarlett is gorgeous and all, but come on!) Johansson plays a pretty much stoic stoned face temptress throughout and it’s probably one of her strongest performances in a long time.
The cinematography is well done and the soundtrack is very haunting and quite gripping. If you have PATIENCE, then you may like this as it does make you think and question everything throughout. If you get frustrated easily with a slow pace and no resolutions, then you may want to skip this one or you will drive yourself insane.
I give it a 7 out of 10 stars.
