My first exposure to Under The Skin was when I saw a post from one of my friends on Tumblr who was very excited about the movie. She had read the book some years ago and forgotten the title, and then by chance discovered they'd made said book into a movie. I then read up on the film and read several glowing reviews, and I managed to convince my friend who, shall we say is less than keen on Scarlett Johansson, to come and watch it with me as it was only showing at the local independent cinema.
The film opens on the creation of an eyeball (in case you saw the film and were wondering). The eyeball in question belongs to an alien who takes the form of Scarlett Johansson, although think Scarlett Johansson in the 80s with a dodgy hairdo rather than the blonde bombshell we've all come to recognise. The film is set in the present day so I'm not sure why she has such terrible hair other than maybe the production blew so much money on her fee that they could only afford a really crap wig off ebay to disguise their star? Anyway, the alien drives around Scotland in a transit van and talks men into having a lift, taking them back to her place and submerging them all in fluid that preserves them but doesn't kill them. What does she want with them? Is she eating them? Studying them? And who is the mysterious stranger on the motorbike?
Unless you have read the book (as my friend who's read the book tells me), you will not find out the answer to any of these questions. The film has received a lot of praise but it really did nothing for me. It thought it was being arty and cool but I just found it confusing and misleading, and if I'm honest, really really boring. So Scarlett Johansson takes her clothes off. Big whoop. The biggest revelation here was that *shock horror* she has a very normal body underneath her clothes, and she clearly has a supplier of very good underwear that minimises her rather big bottom and thighs and maximises her rather small bosom. And before anyone replies to my review and tells me "you're only jealous", allow me to say I'm not having a go at Ms Johansson, quite the opposite, it was refreshing to see a Hollywood star look like an average Jane. But if this was an entirely Scottish film, with a Scottish nobody in the lead role who was taking her clothes off, would anyone care? Would anyone have seen it? Would it have received rave reviews? I highly doubt it. Because yet again that proves that a Hollywood star taking her clothes off is more of a draw than a great story. Which the book of this may well be.
The movie did manage to achieve one thing, but in all honesty, just talking to my friend who has read the book probably would have done this just as well. It has made me want to read the book, just to find out if any of my questions above are actually answered.
One final point. The music (by Mica Levi) was very atmospheric. It set a good tone. It's just a shame the movie didn't live up to that. 3 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 14th March 2014
UK Release Date - 14th March 2014
Cast Overview:
Scarlett Johansson
Director ~ Jonathan Glazer
Writer(s) ~ Walter Campbell (Screenplay), Michel Faber (Novel) and Jonathan Glazer
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