Under The Skin Review (WARNING: Spoilers)

Going to New York, I felt anxious, mostly because I was hoping that there would be no problems getting to the AMC Empire on time. Living in Union City has it's downsides when it comes to movies like Under the Skin. Limited releases make little to no money here, but luckily, New York always has space for the arts, especially one in a million beauties like this film. 

Under the Skin was originally released in 2013 in private screenings and festivals, were the early releases were mixed, but more on the favorable spectrum. Now it's in limited release in April of 2014. The film is directed by Johnathan Glazer, responsible for other films like SexyBeast and Birth, the latter starring famed actress Nicole Kidman. This time, the focus is on Scarlett Johansson, as an alien in human form who picks up men in Scotland for harvesting. 

The first portion of the film mostly follows her character from her beginnings of a human, who unemotionally carries out her duties. This part unnerved me, as Scarlett would turn on her charm when speaking to locals in an accent and then immediately erase all humanity from her face. To her its a facade, a weapon used to gain her prize. What I don't understand is the alien's motives for harvesting humans, particularly males. Why wouldn't woman work? What is the meat of men used for? The film never answers these questions, but I think it's deliberate and has the viewer think up something worse than what is really happening. 

Acting wise, it really feels like a one man show sometimes, watching only Scarlett in her van or walking around. The only other people who stand out who are of importance are the man in the motorcycle, obviously another alien who acts as Scarlett's handler and cleaner, removing traces of the humans she captures or kills, in the case of a drowning couple who ruined her chances of getting prey the easy way. The other is a potential victim she picks up, who she begins to pity because of his Neurofibromatosis disfigurement.

From this point on, she becomes conscious of herself as a human, and completely abandons her mission to explore more on her own. This part feels like a fish out of water story, but knowing what she is makes it still unnerving. She tries to eat like a human, but immediately throws it up, unable to digest like us. She attempts to have real sex with a man who takes her in, something she had never done on her mission, but the oddity of her body betrays her. She feels close to the man enough to kiss him with passion but cannot handle the female organ she has, inspecting it with a lamp in frustration. The end is bittersweet, as she gets her comeuppance for her past crimes and at the same time is unable to continue her journey as a human. The beginning had shown her predatory nature to men, luring them in with her body to their demise, but the method mirrors how men prey upon women, picking them up when they need help and luring them to a human demise, rape. Scarlett herself is attacked by a rapist, whose roughness in his manner rips her skin. He runs away from her just as she decides to take off her skin and reveal her alien form, which is simple in its design. She looks like a coal colored humanoid. She states at her human face, which blinks back at her. My feeling is she's given up, failing both as an alien and a human, but never regretful of her experiences. And with that, the rapist returns, dosing her in gasoline and burning her to death. 

Overall, I was numb after the film. It's obviously a film that shows how complex human emotions are and that even an alien can be overwhelmed by our capacity to feel for anything and anyone. It's this overwhelming emotion, however, that proves to be the alien's downfall. The film is based on a book by Michel Faber, which I will be reading soon to see how it fares to the film. I can't say thatI recommend this  film to everyone, because it isn't for everyone, but it is a film worth watching, for another great performance by Scarlett Johansson, great visuals and audio, and a compelling story.