I'd spent a few weeks reading the reviews of "Under the Skin." When it finally came to our one independent art theatre, Filmstreams, I had already decided to see it. We have far too few unique films and I have long been tired of the formulaic Hollywood films, so that was factored into my decision.
I urge everyone to see "Under the Skin," because it's definitely unique. I've not read the book, so I knew only what had been in the reviews. The viewer is constantly unsure of what is going on until the very end, where you even then can't be sure.
Scarlett Johannsen is appropriately bizarre, sweet, vulnerable, calculating, terrified, seductive, and zombie-like, depending on any given moment. She comes alive to trap the men she meets, then goes back into her trance-like state to go out and trap another one. The men she finds are all fairly awful-looking, but the inside joke of the film seems to be that they all think they have a chance with such a beautiful woman and are all lured to their doom (which shows the over-sized ego of the men), except for the one man she deliberately lets get away. He is wary of her because he's wary of everyone, after years of being taunted about his disease. She finds this interesting, you feel, and the viewer sees a flicker of humanity growing. Her scene in front of the damaged mirror is riveting. She seems to have really seen her reflection for the first time here, which haunts and amazes her.
Most of the reviews here are from men, but this film has a distinctly feminine viewpoint once the main character begins to interact with the men she comes across. The man who takes her home from the bus admirably distances himself from her in the beginning. She stands in the bedroom after he leaves, looking just like the alien she is; you have the feeling that she's never had to sleep or felt the need to, or ever really been inside a room for longer than it takes to walk through it. Her sexual awakening is confirmed with her long perusal of her naked body in the mirror.
In the first half of the film she drew men into her van playing at sexuality, with no idea of what that entailed. In the second half she seems to yearn for it, radiating this so strongly that the man is drawn to her, kissing her and then trying to go further. It is at this moment that we see the alien become aware of what sex really is. Her violent reaction is surely something felt by many women, and when she grabs the lamp to examine herself, this is also surely something done by many women. We don't know the real reason for that until the end, but it's a striking scene that says so much with so very little effort. She learns terror at that moment and the feeling never really leaves her as the movie winds to its end, and I venture to say that most women feel this way when confronted by men at many points in their lives.
This isn't a film for everyone, but for those open to a new experience it is visually and emotionally rewarding, despite the fact that in reality, it's a slow, methodical film that doesn't give any answer to the questions it raises. It's the anti-blockbuster.
I urge everyone to see "Under the Skin," because it's definitely unique. I've not read the book, so I knew only what had been in the reviews. The viewer is constantly unsure of what is going on until the very end, where you even then can't be sure.
Scarlett Johannsen is appropriately bizarre, sweet, vulnerable, calculating, terrified, seductive, and zombie-like, depending on any given moment. She comes alive to trap the men she meets, then goes back into her trance-like state to go out and trap another one. The men she finds are all fairly awful-looking, but the inside joke of the film seems to be that they all think they have a chance with such a beautiful woman and are all lured to their doom (which shows the over-sized ego of the men), except for the one man she deliberately lets get away. He is wary of her because he's wary of everyone, after years of being taunted about his disease. She finds this interesting, you feel, and the viewer sees a flicker of humanity growing. Her scene in front of the damaged mirror is riveting. She seems to have really seen her reflection for the first time here, which haunts and amazes her.
Most of the reviews here are from men, but this film has a distinctly feminine viewpoint once the main character begins to interact with the men she comes across. The man who takes her home from the bus admirably distances himself from her in the beginning. She stands in the bedroom after he leaves, looking just like the alien she is; you have the feeling that she's never had to sleep or felt the need to, or ever really been inside a room for longer than it takes to walk through it. Her sexual awakening is confirmed with her long perusal of her naked body in the mirror.
In the first half of the film she drew men into her van playing at sexuality, with no idea of what that entailed. In the second half she seems to yearn for it, radiating this so strongly that the man is drawn to her, kissing her and then trying to go further. It is at this moment that we see the alien become aware of what sex really is. Her violent reaction is surely something felt by many women, and when she grabs the lamp to examine herself, this is also surely something done by many women. We don't know the real reason for that until the end, but it's a striking scene that says so much with so very little effort. She learns terror at that moment and the feeling never really leaves her as the movie winds to its end, and I venture to say that most women feel this way when confronted by men at many points in their lives.
This isn't a film for everyone, but for those open to a new experience it is visually and emotionally rewarding, despite the fact that in reality, it's a slow, methodical film that doesn't give any answer to the questions it raises. It's the anti-blockbuster.