Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Under The Skin

I'm on record saying Under the Skin (2014) is the best film of the year so far. I've seen it twice and loved it each time. The cinematography is amazing and gives the movie a unique and other worldly look. So it was hard to choose just one shot. But for The Film Experience's series "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", I had to do my best.

I chose this shot because this scene was my first indication that this movie is going places I can't anticipate. Scarlett Johansson's unidentified alien has just undressed this dead woman, whom she might have killed,  and wore her clothes. Yet she takes a moment to take her in. What is she thinking? What is she going to do next? Did she just appropriate something more from the dead woman than just her clothes by that look? The last question in particular came to me because I thought Johansson played both of these characters. In some shots the dead woman looks just like her, in others she does not. What is happening? Something so sinister and foreboding yet exciting about the silhouettes in shadow juxtaposed against the stark white background. Again what the fuck is happening?

So many questions and no answers. This will continue until the very end of the movie. And that's what makes it singular and inventive. Man I love this movie.

Review - Under the Skin

I think I might have a new favorite film. I am astonished by how much I liked Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin. It seeped into me and a week after seeing it I'm still lost in a haze of its brilliant images and inventive storytelling. Glazer proves yet again how singular his vision is.

The film is told from the point of view of an alien (played by Scarlet Johansson in their human form) who comes to Earth on a vague mission. She lands in Glasgow and proceeds to pick up men and lure them to her dungeon-like place where they vanish in a big black liquid like pit. Why she needs them is never explained. She might have a handler or a supervisor who sometimes follows her; we are not sure. And the movie doesn't care to explain. It's more interested in the alien learning about being human and discovering emotions that didn't exist before. Strictly sticking to her POV the movie never wavers or tries to explain its plot. No exposition just methodically exploring this particular entity's story. This might be infuriating if you were looking for a cohesive plot.

The images are eerily stark, not exactly conventionally beautiful. The camera explores Earth from this very alien view. Even the streets and people look slightly off, as if I was seeing such shapes for the very first time. One of the reasons why the movie is so brilliant. I don't think I have seen anything like this before. It's a movie that I suspect will reward on multiple viewings and I can't wait to see it again.