In a novel that looks more exciting and powerful about science fiction scenes built on Michael Faber's novel. Michael tells of a strange woman who once went to the highlands of Scotland in order to perform a strange task. On top of the mountains, this girl tries to use her beauty and attractiveness to capture people and turn them into food for her army in an adventure that seems to be the deepest in the girl's life.
It's admirable that Johansson should be so willing to go off the Hollywood grid, but the truth is, "Under the Skin" would have been a lot better if it wasn't so excruciatingly arty.
Glacial in pace, skeletal in plot, and generally nasty, Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin is a repetitive nightmare of drear and dread punctuated by moments of queasy-making horror.
Though Johansson barely speaks, she conveys her alien character's unfamiliarity with her body and her surroundings, as well as her growing awareness of what it means to be human, in every look and subtle motion.
Most of Under the Skin operates on an almost subconscious level. The truth is out there in Glazer's screenplay, which he co-wrote with Walter Campbell, but it's intuitive rather than didactic.
An exploration and subversion of the unstated theme of 'Species' and its ilk: the fear of female sexuality, and the fantasy scenarios that are all tied up in those fears.
Minds will be blown to the four winds. And - fair warning - a percentage of American ticket buyers may find themselves exasperated and/or exiting early.
