Glazer’s Under the Skin out of this world

A black screen. Odd sounds, slowly becoming louder. Suddenly, a spot of light appears and gradually moves a little closer… This scene is how Under the Skin begins.

A creepy, disorienting movie the whole way through, this sci-fi fever dream seeks more to discomfort than entertain. In spite of that, it’s fascinating the whole way through, offering a tantalizing story and striking, eerie visuals.

Under the Skin centers around Laura, an otherworldly being who has stolen the body of a human, played by Scarlett Johansson. She spends her days driving around Scotland, searching for men to seduce and bring back to her home. She then leads them into a strange black void, where she traps them in a dark pool of liquid. We are never told her reason for doing this.

She is assisted by another one of her own who has taken the body of a motorcyclist. Even so, she decides to leave this job behind, even though there isn’t anything else she can do on Earth.

If that synopsis seems sparse, that’s because there isn’t much to tell. Under the Skin is a movie that doesn’t much value exposition or establishing dialogue—it simply drops you in a situation, gives you just enough to start guessing, and moves forward. It’s hard to even say what exactly Laura is supposed to be: many people have dubbed her an “alien,” but there’s little to support that she’s from another planet. We only know that she is not human.

We never know what is done with the men she traps, nor is her relationship with the motorcyclist ever clarified. This isn’t a movie about finding answers—after all, letting the audience know everything wouldn’t be quite as unnerving.

Johansson’s performance contributes a great deal to the film’s uncomfortable atmosphere. In her conversations with potential victims, she can never quite string together a coherent line of questioning.  Her lines sound rehearsed and unnatural—asking someone for directions only to cut them off with “Do you live around here?” or “Are you alone?” Her character frequently seems uncomfortable, unfamiliar with a body that is not hers and unsure of how to interact with these beings she’s trying to mimic. It’s a subtle, low-key performance that’s different from her previous work.

Director Jonathan Glazer, though primarily a director of music videos and commercials, is best known for his crime film Sexy Beast, which was also noted for being strange, unconventional, and intensely  grim. His visual style is on full display in Under the Skin, from the curious opening sequence to his many shots of the Scottish landscape at dusk. His palette is very dark for most of the film, with many scenes taking place at night, adding to the film’s ominous and vague atmosphere.

Under the Skin is an aesthetically and topically dark movie. The whole film feels cold, even at its most shocking, and can be difficult to grasp as a result; then again, this is not a film that needs to be grasped. The goal is not to reach the ending, to relate to the characters, or to find answers; it’s simply to follow Laura and see her experiences. It seems possible that Laura might be just as confused as we are, simply following orders or instinct. While the plot does start rolling around the middle of the film (when Laura abandons her work), the finale doesn’t offer any closure—just a grim, haunting finality.

Under the Skin is polarizing. Some will like it for its atmosphere or Scarlett Johansson’s performance. Others will hate it for its opaque storytelling or lack of relatable characters. But even with that, it’s hard to dismiss this film. It exudes power over its audience—nearly every frame is striking and few scenes could be called boring. It’s excellently put together, and in the end, nearly impossible to forget.