Under the Skin

This movie stays cold, detached and not-so-enjoyable long into its runtime. Only the last third outlines the motifs that give it sense. Nevertheless, it is only slightly emotional and the least viewer-friendly and most minimalistic film in terms of audiovisuals among Jonathan Glazer’s works. This may be on purpose: while the main feature of Glazer’s genius, in addition to original narrative structures, is powerful audiovisuals. Following a crime drama and a romance flick, he surprises us with a minimalistic take on a genre, which is usually held together by rich graphic expression. (26/08/2019)

For an artistically mature film like this, three stars are probably unfair, but if I rated it higher, I’d be lying to myself. The atmosphere is hypnotic and intoxicating, the soundtrack is fantastic and I would love to make posters of individual frames and hang them on the wall… but the endless ride on a van while looking at nothing gets boring after some time. (02/07/2014)

I think that Scarlett Johansson looks really great here. That’s the only upside of this movie. However, I objectively think that it’s not a one-star or a two-star affair, because it’s art and it needs to be viewed as such. But I wasn’t really able to manage that throughout the movie because the interesting sci-fi theme was jammed into a story flow the likes of: Scarlett’s driving a car. She stops. A passer-by hops in, lured by her curves. The passer-by wants to nail her. She lures him home and the passer-by drowns and gets preserved in some sort of a liquid that Scarlett sends him to space in. The end. That’s what happens once, the second and the third time and in the meantime, Scarlett’s driving her car and she’s just quiet. She’s just driving, and the camera focuses on her face or the road around her. In any case, Kryštof Hádek and his reference to the Czech Republic was a surprise, the kid on the beach added some proper depressiveness, the elephant man was shocking and the ending totally put the cherry on top of this pile of lunacy. This movie reminded me of Valhalla Rising. Only with the difference that this movie managed to shock me, but also piss me off many times. And the music? I’m still sick to my stomach because of it. (01/03/2015)

The Fifth Element from the far side of the world, and an eerie cryptic metaphor about gender dynamics, a double-edged form of unrestraint and the violent nature of human communication. (10/01/2024)

If you can tune in to images like a naked man with elephantiasis gingerly padding across a damp, overgrown meadow under an overcast sky, you're in for some breathtaking visual manna at times. Despite the fact that underneath the skin of brooding heavy art there is actually a story about a little mermaid, where the change of the black-clad protagonist is represented by her association with white mist or snow. I notice that the official text of the distributor doesn't mess around this time. (29/03/2020)

This cannot be and is not a movie that appeals to everyone. If you go into it expecting to see Scarlett naked, then yes, but you might not find it worth waiting for that frontal scene at all. On the other hand, this is an interesting form of thoughtful sci-fi that ultimately tries to prove that humanity is worth it. I'm not so sure about that... The film takes its own path, as does the direction and camera work, and it stays on that path the whole time. What cannot be taken away from the film is Scarlett's performance, which is breathtaking. (14/08/2014)