UNDER THE SKIN

Jordan Catalano Profile Photo
Jordan Catalano
#1UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 8:00am

Has anyone else seen this? If so, can you answer a few questions?

1) What in the holy hell did I just watch?

2) Will I have nightmares from that one "underwater" scene for the rest of my life?

3) Is it the best thing Scarlett Johansson has ever done?

4) Did the ghost of Stanley Kubrick have a baby with David Lynch and that tiny little baby somehow made a movie?

5) For a movie that left me with the most "WHAT. THE. F.UCK." feeling at the end, why did I feel the need to immediately go on Amazon and buy it so that I'll be able to watch it over and over again?

6) If your Grandma asked you what it was about, what would you tell her?

tazber Profile Photo
tazber
#2UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 8:38am

It's about an alien who stalks and kills men by luring them with her beauty.

It's also about how that alien learns something about being a human while masquerading as one.

And there some mysterious other guy (presumably also an alien) who follows her around and cleans up the messes.

Personally I really enjoyed, but I knew going in to expect ambiguity.


....but the world goes 'round

Jordan Catalano Profile Photo
Jordan Catalano
#2UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 8:40am

But WHY, Taz? WHY does she stalk and kill them?? And HOW does she kill them? I mean, what in the hell was that "pool"? I need to know these things.

Jordan Catalano Profile Photo
Jordan Catalano
#3UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 1:24pm

Has nobody else seen this yet?

strummergirl Profile Photo
strummergirl
#4UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:37pm

1. B)
2. Possibly. That score is something that was on my brain even before I purchased the soundtrack.
3. I think she is aces at Black Widow and needs her own film and should've won that damn Oscar for Lost in Translation but once the film changes- after she meets and spares the deformed man- I think she does some of her best work. You have to believe the change while also constantly questioning it and the ending destroyed me.
4. Oh, there is definitely that. Also got Tarkovsky and Nicolas Roeg vibes. Somebody called it Movern Callar Sent From Space and while I did not see that film, I can picture a Lynne Ramsay sci-fi film being exactly like this.
5. This is what hit me while I saw it at TIFF. I wanted to watch it again. I've seen it again, even though I found it so memorable I can mentally project scene to scene the whole film. Cannot wait for the Blu-Ray.
6. I saw it with my mother. I warned her. I told her there had been walk-outs at other festivals. She hated it and was angry with me but she hated it in a 'that creeped me out way too much' kind of way than thinking it was bad cinema so....

I actually think it is about how the alien becomes the human and how being a woman human makes her as an object of desire, even when she no longer wants to send those signals, the very danger for her. Essentially the female experience.

The Mica Levi soundtrack is available on iTunes btw.

FishermanBob Profile Photo
FishermanBob
#5UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 6:41pm

It's funny. For most straight guys, analyzing this film is pretty easy.

"Did you see ScarJo in Under the Skin? She goes fully nude."

"Yeah dude. It was awesome. Great flick!!!"





Updated On: 7/18/14 at 06:41 PM

Jordan Catalano Profile Photo
Jordan Catalano
#6UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 8:06pm

That was pretty much th EXACT conversation I had with two straight friends about an hour ago. LOLOL

Taryn Profile Photo
Taryn
#7UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/18/14 at 9:12pm

I absolutely loved it and was entirely fascinated by it, but in a way that I never want to see it again.

VeraCharles3 Profile Photo
VeraCharles3
#8UNDER THE SKIN
Posted: 7/19/14 at 9:20am

I agree with Taryn, I found the film facinating and I am glad I saw it but I never want to watch it again.

Jordan - Whizzer (I think) started a thread about this film a few months back - it may answer some of your questions but I can't remember if it did or not.

Slight spoiler!!

The book is very good - I read it years ago - it explains about the killings - force fed and fattened up and sent to space for meat - humans are a delicacy. Also the ending was different if I remember but would need to check my copy to be sure.