Thursday, April 24, 2014

Movies: Under The Skin


 


(Drivebycuriosity) - Aliens are fascinating, if they really exist. They could be very strange and different, because they might be the result of a distinct evolution chain; and if they reach the earth they must have a superior technology.  No wonder that there are many science fiction stories & movies about visiting extraterrestrials. "Under the Skin", which is now running in US cinema theaters, is the newest exemplar of this genre (imdb).

The movie is the most electrifying film I have seen for a while. Director Jonathan Glazer, with the help of co-scriptwriter Walter Campbell,  distilled Michel Faber's 2000 complex novel of the same name into an intoxicating cinematic masterpiece. As in the novel, 2 aliens are visiting earth, taking human shape and are abducting young males. 

The film version doesn`t elaborate these ideas, instead Glazer focuses on Scarlett Johansson as a sexually predatory alien camouflaged by a human skin. The camera follows "her" closely and shows how the alien tries to learn and to handle the humans. This leads to visually stunning allegories which leave room for the imagination. 

Watching Scarlett Johansson alluring her "prey" is breathtaking. The movie is almost a one-woman show - and highly erotical. The film benefits a lot from the outstanding cinematography. Jonathan Glazer, his cinematographer Daniel Landin and the post production team created pictures which are burning into the brain. Some scenes could make you fall in love with the Scottish landscape, others create surrealistic and other intoxicating optical effects Stanley Kubrick would be proud off. The hypnotic soundtrack by Mica Levi completes the masterpiece (theguardian). 

The movie goes literally "under the skin" - my film of the year so far.

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