REWIND REVIEW: Under The Skin

MOVIE
Under The Skin

CAST
Scarlett Johansson

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 4, 2014

DIRECTOR
Jonathan Glazer

STUDIO
A24

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 48 minutes







STARS
****







REVIEW:

If you ever wondered what a true art house film looks, feels, and sounds like, then seek out "Under The Skin."  Director Jonathan Glazer directs Scarlett Johansson in an eerie, bizarre, and polarizing film about an alien in human form and her quest to seduce human men in order to consume their flesh.  The film itself might sound complex, but I'm not going to lie: this movie requires your undivided attention from frame one and will leave your head perplexed when it ends.  It took me two viewings of this film to fully comprehend it, and from what I saw, I can honestly say that this is something of a sic-fi masterpiece.  There are those who will call this movie pretentious, and I completely understand why someone would say that.  The artistic style of this movie, along with the eerie score and slow pace make this film on the surface seem pretentious.  But in truth, this is just one of those movies you just have to see to believe.  I personally found "Under The Skin," as well as Scarlett Johansson's performance to be haunting, mesmerizing, and very tense, making this one of the most fascinating and best films of 2014 thus far.  I'd go into more detail, but it's hard to considering that the film's simplicity lies in how complex everything seems on the first viewing.