Under the Skin

Scarlett Johansson   d/ Jonathan Glazer

Enigmatic, atmospheric film about a blank-faced woman who drives around Scotland seducing young men and taking them to magic rooms where they walk naked into the floor, which is in fact a fluid-filled trap of some kind. None of this is ever explained. We later learn that she is not in fact a woman but a construction of some kind...an artificial skin within which lies another being.

Some of this worked, some didn't. To my eye the drama was undermined by having the lead character a complete cypher. She was such an emotional zero I found myself distanced from the action on the screen. Also, there were abrupt changes in tone whenever we shifted from one of the magic rooms to reality which made the film jagged, not smooth.

The music and sound design were very effective; the lighting, both interior and exterior created a sense of mystery. Pacing was slow but when the plot began to unfold 3/4 of the way through it turned out that the wait was worth it...the payoff scenes were sharp, effective and gave us enough to piece together an understanding of what we've just watched.

Original, intriguing, worth it.

6