Jonathan Glazer's latest film, Under The Skin, is a sci-fi film unlike any I've ever seen. Dark and disturbing, the film follows Scarlett Johansson, who plays an alien in human form, as she drives the streets of Glasgow and the Scottish highlands in a white transit van in pursuit of men.
The film is certainly mysterious, and I imagine I could explain everything that happened and I feel you would still know nothing. Truly it is a visual masterpiece though, that can't be denied. There are beautiful landscape shots, actuality footage on the streets of Glasgow, and shots of the black, strange, eerie place that Johannson lures her unknowing victims. Some of the scenes are incredibly distressing to say the least (note the scene on the beach, which is just some of the most uncomfortable viewing I may have ever witnessed). The unearthly score by Mica Levi certainly adds to this overall creepiness, and sometimes it is definitely more of a horror than a sci-fi.
I think what's interesting is to see how Johansson's character develops, she isn't human, but the more time she spends around them the more human she seems, to see how the emotionless creature at the beginning of the film, who has no qualms stealing the clothes from a dead girl for herself, to the very much human creature at the end who feels true fear. Maybe this is one of the messages in the film, in some way, about the qualities required to truly be human? I am only taking a stab in the dark though because really, I am none the wiser about what Under The Skin is trying to say.
Now, I've thought about it for a while and I still am unsure of the films deeper meanings, I've read other reviews to try clarify it for me, but the only conclusion I can come to is that I think it's not a film that can be fully understood after one viewing. Maybe it can never really be understood. I wouldn't let that put you off though, if you like to be challenged with cinema, if you like films that truly do get under your skin, then this is a must.
I think what's interesting is to see how Johansson's character develops, she isn't human, but the more time she spends around them the more human she seems, to see how the emotionless creature at the beginning of the film, who has no qualms stealing the clothes from a dead girl for herself, to the very much human creature at the end who feels true fear. Maybe this is one of the messages in the film, in some way, about the qualities required to truly be human? I am only taking a stab in the dark though because really, I am none the wiser about what Under The Skin is trying to say.
Now, I've thought about it for a while and I still am unsure of the films deeper meanings, I've read other reviews to try clarify it for me, but the only conclusion I can come to is that I think it's not a film that can be fully understood after one viewing. Maybe it can never really be understood. I wouldn't let that put you off though, if you like to be challenged with cinema, if you like films that truly do get under your skin, then this is a must.
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