Customer Reviews

Under The Skin [Blu-ray] [2014]

Under The Skin

Imagine that you condensed the plot of a novel down to a single sentence.

Now ignore half of that sentence and make a film of the result.

This seems to have part of the ten year creative process in turning Michel Faber’s novel into Jonathan Glazer’s film.

The resulting film is both haunting and beautiful, contrasting the grit and reality of Glasgow with the isolated emptiness of the Scottish countryside and a clinical hyper-stylised ‘alien’ lair.

The lair scenes and the opening sequence, especially, are reminiscent of Kubrick’s interpretation of Arthur C Clarke’s ‘2001’ whilst the overall feeling is similar to David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’, the awkward outsider who struggles to understand this human world.

Whilst much has been made of the use of real people as victims it’s Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of the seductress, Laura, hunting down lonely men for unspeakable reasons that will stay with the viewer, her understated beauty and unease perfect for the character of Laura but so different from the novel’s awkward, surgically deformed protagonist Isserley.

Book and film stand apart, and the good news is that experiencing neither would affect the enjoyment of the other so different are the storylines but I can’t help thinking that the film lacked a lot in explanation although it more than made up for this with style.

If anything the book is probably darker than the film condemning everything from big business to factory farming and exploring the idea of class through an alien culture. The film touches on none of these themes and the viewer could easily be left wondering what it was all about.

Undoubtedly a masterpiece of the cinematic art, thought provoking and disturbing, ‘Under The Skin’ won’t trouble any box office charts but it will become a cult favourite.

If you’re intrigued enough by the film reading the book would explain a lot, just don’t expect to recognise too much of the story between it’s pages.

Have rarely seen a film that divided audiences like this one. For me it was irresistable, haunting, beautiful, tender, dark, eerie, sharp and deliciously under-explained.
In the days before videos and DVDs etc. when the only way to see a film again was to go back to the cinema for a second look, I occasionally did that. I haven't done it for 20 years but this film so intrigued me that I actually went back to the cinema two days after first seeing it to watch it all over again. Guess what? It was even better the second time. I'll be buying the DVD because I suspect it might be even better the third time. It's like nothing else you've ever seen but as I touchstone I'd say that if you thought Let The Right On In was a masterpiece, I did, then you'll love this.

The title says it all....the soundtrack also deserves a mention as its pitch perfect.

Loved this movie, every second of it! You really have to let your mind go when you watch this, you have to be very open in filling in blanks too as even though there is a story here its deep dark and very surreal in every way, if you have a good imagination then this is certainly the movie for you, the story starts with the alien almost being born as such on our world and we see her going around picking up men to feed on them, like species in a way I guess, the death scenes are weird and surreal, the whole movie is bleak and it has an eerie soundtrack which really sets the tone great, probably one of the best scores this year, Scarlett Johansson is amazing and looks amazing, there's not a whole lot of dialogue here, most of the time the actions and the surroundings do the talking, Johansson is fully naked in some scenes and looks stunning but it all relates to her character, as the movie goes on she begins to change and almost loose herself and gets caught up in the human side, well there's a few ways to looks at it really but I leave that up to you to decide, we do finally see under the skin towards the end in a beautiful CG scene, like I said this is a love it or hate it movie its not like your usual sci-fi and don't follow conventional rules of a movie, it leaves blanks and slight confusion so be alert and absorb everything you see so you can come up with your own final conclusions, very artistic movie that's well made and acted by the beautiful Johansson, certainly worth checking out if you think you can handle it.
There is a few short features mainly mini interviews about aspects of the making of the film.

Having seen this film when first released, it truly has stayed with me! True the book and film are barely related, but the sense of isolation, viewing the behaviour of nameless people going about their inane day to day business, the feeling that the main character ( Johansson) is monitoring and observing, waiting to find the next victim! I haven't seen anything as memorable in a very long time, the sequences of the victims being taken back to the alien lair are truly hauntingly disturbing!! This film has a lot to say about the nature of being human, isolation and being different. Anyone who loves movies that are not run of the mill Hollywood fair, will love this movie, so stylish, Stunning and a work of near masterpiece!!! Scarlett Johansson is amazing in the lead role, and how brave for a Hollywood star, who could pick the major female roles on offer, to choose a art house movie like this!!!

A mysterious woman drives a van across Glasgow and the Highlands of Scotland seeking the company of young men. But Laura, Scarlett Johansson, is not all she appears to be.

Based on Michel Faber's novel, Under the Skin is a science fiction film about an alien being who needs flesh. It ditches most of the book's explanatory passages in favour of developing a sense of mood through visuals. This is a film that unfolds with disquieting images and minimalist naturalistic dialogue rather than as a linear plot driven story . The scenes of Scarlett Johansson interacting with the men she picks up were shot with non actors who did not know they were being filmed. It's an interesting technique that lends their conversations an oddly polite and poignant anonymity. It also perfectly suits the film's underlying narrative about an otherworldly being driven by need adapting to a cold wet alien environment. Under the Skin makes the normal seem strange rather than relying on an abundance of special effects. Johansson's A lister status works to the film's advantage in much the same way that David Bowie's Thin White Duke persona was vital to the Man Who Fell To Earth. Although playing a role she seems alien primarily because of the otherness her on screen presence naturally imbues the character with. Director Jonathan Glazer(Sexy Beast/Birth)delivers a film that is sometimes stark, cold and alienating and at others one that is steeped in eroticism, vulnerability and human warmth.

Under the Skin has some plot ideas that could lend themselves to horror but is much closer to the serious science fiction of Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker than to a normal genre film.

An 'Alien-Being' assumes the human form of a deceased woman, a temptress to
lure in human prey for harvest.
She combs the streets and highways in 'Scotland' in her search of unsuspecting
males luring them into an out of this World dimension where her victims are
consumed.
She'll only approach prospective victims if alone.
She carries out her tasks with great efficiency and without emotion or conscience.
Another 'Being' watches over her, clearing up any loose ends.
Being in and around humans and liking what she see's in a mirror she begins to
see herself in a different light, she even tries to eat cake in a restaurant, but can't.
The consequences of her confusion in trying to embrace human behaviour can
only really end badly.
Because she has side-stepped her purpose and has failed to be where she is
supposed to be, her 'minder' goes in search for the stray.
An interesting concept which works well in the main, perhaps losing it's way now
and then, not enough to trouble you too much.
'Scarlett Johansson' gives a seductive and mesmerising performance as the 'Alien'
Temptress.
Bonus Features -
* Behind the scenes interviews on -
* Camera - Casting - Editing - Locations - Music - Poster Design - Production Design
- Script - Sound - VFX.

It is not often that you see something genuinely strange, but the atmosphere of this film certainly is that, in a thrilling way. It dares you to go with it open-eyed, to allow it to open a door in the mind that hasn't been pushed open before, using extraordinary visual effects and sounds (but not a flying saucer among them). The images are often very beautiful, not least of which are those of Scarlett Johanssen herself, who is an "effect" in the film. There is also quite a lot of the everyday, shown in almost documentary style, and it is the interface between the two that makes it so intriguing and utterly original. It is best not to know too much, but anyone who enjoyed Birth is likely to be very receptive to this, which is possibly even better. Jonathan Glazer has once again used a very alluring actress in a scenario that is so full of mystery and strange resonances that you wonder how he can possibly bring it to a conclusion ... The fantastic score is another factor common to both, and a strange uniformity of tone and colour, although here bleak weather in Scotland, whether in Glasgow or the open country, or on the coast, is set against a starkly different dimension, mirroring the greater ambition of the new film. Johanssen is amazing in the lead; I did wonder how strange her view really was, though, as I tend to feel quite alienated myself from those around me and regard their reactions with some sense of otherness, rather as she does. I'm not aware of any gloopy interface, but could one be an alien without knowing it, possibly? At all events, the whole alien/human thing seems to be called into question, which is no bad thing ...

There used to be a time when directors like Ingmar Bergman could make a self-indulgent film purely as they want to, catering to the art-houses and garner (usually justified) critical acclaim but very poor returns at the box office. It's very surprising then, that this film should even have been made - I think it's unlikely to be a commercial success - when I saw it last night, the screening (only one of two on the day, down from five or six last week, in the only cinema for miles to be showing it) was attended by about 30 people, one of whom slept through most of it. And yet it truly is a masterpiece of film making - the score was perfect in every way, the minimal dialogue contributing to the surreal and alien look-and-feel of the movie. If I had to criticise anything at all, it would only be the thick Scottish accent of some of the dialogue, which was hard to understand in some places. But it too lent authenticity to the setting - even Johanssen's dialogue was perfect - her British accent was unbelievable, you would not have known she was American. Johanssen herself was an actual bona-fide revelation - casting her as the alien "Laura" was unexpected but genius - her acting (chillingly detached in one scene, on the beach with a small child) was utterly brilliant, and raised her to a whole new level of acting. The cinematography was stunning - the scenes in the Scottish highlands in particular, were fantastic but there were many places in the film where you could just freeze the film, print the image and hang it on your wall.

It won't be to everyone's taste - it doesn't have car chases, space ships, ray guns, and for once (thank God) there are no jingoistic Americans saving the world with some half-assed hokum at the last minute. What it does have, is world-class acting, directing and score. It has it in spades.

Under the Skin sure is something, not what what that something is but I like it. Scarlet Johansson must have had a bash playing so firmly against type in this creepy art-house retelling of Species via Roeg's The Man who fell to Earth. An impeccably directed atmosphere piece with outstanding design. Music in-particular, Mica Levi's score evokes the image of victims clawing walls while the alien seductress claims more people above. That score made this film for me, Glazer's under the skin is a masterpiece of ominous sound design. Still. I'm not quite sure what I just watched and for me that is the mark of a science fiction film that will stand the test of time for many, many years to come.