Under the Skin
That was a perfect movie for me to watch with the folks of the Cologne Film Club. It has been silently sitting in my collection for years without me procuring the capacity to watch it; too many things surrounding the creation of the film had built up a feeling of complexity and profundity that may be hard to stomach on a typical movie night. But that’s what a film club is for: Watching weird shit that you don’t have to apologize to your friends and family for afterwards while still being surrounded by like-minded and approachable people to dump your initial WTFs onto once the credits roll.
What it says on the tin is science fiction, hint of horror, arthouse (A24-distributed), Scarlett Johansson as an alien in Scotland that preys on men walking home alone at night. After the first third of the film, this gimmick gives way to something much deeper, though. Immigration? A reminder that we are all the same, despite where we’re from? Feminism and misogyny? Empathy as a core capacity of humanity? Man is the real monster? Veganism?
Could be, could be. At the end, it doesn’t really matter. This movie makes it clear from the getgo that you—the viewer—will have a huge question mark on your face most of the time. Luckily, it’s also one of the movies that doesn’t hold that against you. It is slow-paced, almost hypnotic at times, with negligible dialog, and the congenial second protagonist … Scotland! With the vastness of the Highlands and the messy but inviting streets of Glasgow. There is time to reflect on what is going on on the screen.
The cinema hall also chuckled every once in a while. For example, when Scarlett Johansson’s alien almost chokes on a piece of cake in disgust, or when it gets surrounded by a crowd of party-loving women in an attempt to “rescue” that poor girl that roams the city all by herself at night, only to get dragged onto the dancefloor for Darude’s Sandstorm the next moment. Two other pleasant throwbacks come to mind: the radio reports on a certain referendum that is yet te be held—the movie premiered and is set in 2013—and super-attentive hip hop heads can spot a promotional poster for the 2011-11-03 concert at The Arches/Glasgow of the late MF Doom.
that sense of preciousness, almost like a Russian ikon painting, that goldness that comes through humanity.The bonus content on the Blu-ray is very insightful; not your typical marketing bs.
I think, I’ll leave it at that. And I haven’t even touched upon the topics of the hidden cameras, letting an amateur actor do a rape scene, or having an actor with facial deformations carry the turning point of the plot. Yeah, this film is a handful! I don’t know if I ever want to watch it again. I’m not even sure if I would recommend recommend it to anyone. What I do know is that for a brief moment in time it captivated all my senses and let me slide into the mystical and beautiful unknown.