Thoughts on Under the Skin, in three different stages:
1. During the movie.
What is going on? She’s an alien, right? That’s what the description said. Is she going to be driving around in this van for the entire movie? Are those guys actually having sex with her and then getting destroyed, or are they consumed and converted to fuel without ever touching her? That seems kind of cruel.
2. Immediately after the movie.
That was okay, I guess. I think I kind of liked it. It was different than I thought it would be. I liked the thought process behind her trying to eat cake. “I think I’m starting to feel things. Maybe I’m human. Let me check by eating this cake.” There are worse ways to check to see if you’re human or not, I suppose.
3. The day after the movie.
I really loved that movie. Scarlett Johansson gave a tremendous performance. She gave her stoic character a ton of depth, and brought her subtle character arc to life with silence. It was odd and heartbreaking, and I’m really looking forward to watching it again.
Translation: it’s not necessarily an easy movie to watch, but it gets better the more you think about it. Plus, it can kind of be described as “Art house Species,” which I’m a fan of.
Rating: 4.5/5