BARE BONES: UNDER THE SKIN

UNDER THE SKIN (2013)

I am a big Scarlett Johansson fan and despite the actress putting in a strong performance and appearing in her first fully nude scenes, I really wasn’t wow’d otherwise by Jonathan Glazer’s arty book-based Sci-Fi flick. The film, co-written by Glazer and Walter Campbell from Michel Faber’s book, has an alien being (Johansson) in the form of a beautiful woman, stalking the streets of Scotland for men whom she lures to her lair where they are ‘absorbed’. But, as her masquerade as a human continues, she begins to discover what it is like to be human and this raises complications in her mission and changes and confusion in herself. The film is intriguing but, is also kinda dull at times, too. I appreciate the more art house approach to a very familiar science fiction tale but, it never really grabbed me enough or really pulled me in, despite yet another very strong performance from it’s leading lady and some very cool imagery and cinematography from Daniel Landin. A curiosity worth checking out, and more obviously if you’re a Scarlett Johansson fan, but, otherwise nothing that really makes as strong as an impression as it seems like it should have. There is a nice atmospheric score by Mica Levi.