Scarlett Johanssen in Under the Skin.
Based on the novel by Michel Faber, Under the Skin is a combination sci-fi, mystery, thriller, that’s otherworldly and unsettling, and so unpredictable that you’ll still be sorting it out when it’s over. But in spite of its dark exploration of an uncommon topic, this film is so artistically crafted that every minute of screen time will captivate you. And it shadows you long after it’s over, both because it’s haunting and because you’ll be pretty busy putting all the pieces together. This is a brave film, not only in its subject matter but in its slow, meticulous, minimal style with almost no dialogue, which heightens the power and charges the suspense. Very few filmmakers could have pulled this off. But director Jonathan Glazer (Birth, Sexy Beast), as they say in the UK: well done you.
Scarlett Johanssen in Under the Skin.
Scarlett Johansson plays a mystery woman with a British accent, not that she speaks much. Driving a van, she cruises the highways of Scotland trawling for men. Not just any men. There’s a profile. She asks for directions, all the while trying to determine whether the man is alone, and if so, how alone. If the man is suitable, she offers him a ride. Her direct manner is obvious, but she’s hot so the man accepts, and soon she’s driving him to her place. The chilling background music, her predatory style, and the dark, abandoned looking building she calls home all alert us that this young woman is up to no good. The spider is seducing the fly. I won’t tell you where this is going—you won’t believe it anyway. But there is no gore or violence in the conventional sense and nothing is arbitrary. And with so little dialogue to distract you from the visuals, you’ll remember the details enough to pull them back together later. If you have any questions, ask my husband. He has an uncanny knack for decoding film clues. You couldn’t ask for a more satisfying movie companion and sometimes I wonder if I should rent him out.
Scarlett Johanssen in Under the Skin.
Under the Skin lies somewhere between David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock, but it has a style all its own. Right from the supernatural opening scene, you’ll be baffled and you’ll be hooked. There’s plenty of male and female nudity, mostly the vulnerable, naked kind. It’s a courageous role for Scarlett Johansson who does not have an airbrushed Hollywood body, and who is barely recognizable in her short brunette wig, which makes her less distracting as a movie star and more convincing as a mysterious woman with a mission. Be warned. This tense and eerie film is not a happy romp and not everyone’s taste. But if you go along for the ride, you’ll be wowed. Rating: A