"Under the Skin" Review

Release date: April 4^th 2014 (U.S.)

Director: Jonathan Glazer
Writers: Jonathan Glazer, Walter Campbell

Editors: Paul Watts

Score Composer:  Mica Levi

Cinematographer:  Daniel Landin

Budget: 13.3 Million

Domestic gross: $4,422,354

Material: Digital
Aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1
Running time: 108 Min.

Current Tomato Meter: 86%

            Now that David Cronenberg has unofficially passed the body horror/sci-fi weirdo freak-out torch to no one in particular, it’s an unequivocal joy (for me, at least) when another filmmaker seems to have momentarily snatched it up.  Current snatcher is Jonathan Glazer, sporadic director of feature films (Sexy Beast and Birth), and somewhat prolific director of television commercials and music videos.  Glazer, calling on his versatile filmmaking tools, has filled the Cronenbergian void, not with a perfect fit, but with a complicated one.  Under the Skin is a film which explores questions of sex, without any intention of answering them, and the viewing experience is all the better for it.

            Scarlett Johansson plays a woman… or something posing as a woman, cruising Glasgow in search of men in her giant white van.  She faces little trouble in her search, because an attractive forward woman looking for a companion in any vehicle is rarely refused.  Some men are a slightly wary of the situation, and one doesn’t trust her for a moment.  Regardless, any dude willing to take a ride is delivered to… somewhere… and basically sunk into… something.  I am being intentionally vague because I wish to mirror how I witnessed the events (and knowing as little as possible about a movie is always the best way to see it).  What might be happening to these injudicious fellows is revealed only suggestively, and it allows the mind to run as wild as the film’s dense and abstract score.  Under the control of a stoic man (or, something posing as a man) Johansson’s character remains eerily focused on her task until meeting a lonely, disfigured twenty-something.  This tosses her into a kind of human experience crash-course as she goes AWOL on her cryptic assignment.

            At this point, I started thinking, “Haven’t we already seen enough movies about what it means to be human?”  From androids, to aliens, to that goofy live-action Jungle Book movie, we have watched that story told in countless films, most notably in the sci-fi genre.  Then the movie takes another, more focused turn, when Johansson discovers her womanhood.  While making her first attempt at doing the deed she appeared to be promising earlier, she realizes what this thing between her legs is capable of and is completely startled.  She examines her nude body in the mirror, pondering its form and abilities, and we start treading the territory of feminist film theory… but that is a whole other blog.

            As much as I would love to say more, I would rather not share all of the film’s contents, and it would be difficult to discuss it analytically without mentioning every detail.  Lucky for me, because I am not exactly prepared to write my dissertation on this frightening, beautiful, and complex work.  If you have heard anything about this film, it is most likely that several critics have mentioned that it is almost like watching a nightmare about what it is like to be Scarlet Johansson.  This is a beautiful woman utilized by men to lure other men for personal gain.  It could be the story of any female sex icon.  Even that concept is merely a starting point: one of many directions from which to enter this cinematic black hole.  No matter Glazer’s intentions, we can be certain he didn’t make this film now, amidst an intense debate over women’s rights, the heated discussion of rape culture and the furor over the “YesAllWomen” hashtag for no reason.  Still, the filmmakers don’t seem to have any intention of making a final statement on any of this.  There is no essay-like through-line I was able to navigate (due to a really dark scene involving an abandoned baby and several other moments).  To me, this is a twisted satire of any woman’s tragic experience negotiating sexual politics in the world today.  This is a challenging journey through an upsetting time, benefiting deeply from Scarlet Johansson’s flawless performance, and should you choose to enter the void, making it to the other side will leave you with a film you’ll be thinking about for years.