Based on Michael Faber’s critically acclaimed 2000 novel Under the Skin, Jonathan Glazer’s newest film, known for his films Birth and Sexy Beast in his career, has returned to film years later. The film focuses on Laura, an alien woman in the world like especially lonely who seduces and destroys men, promising a unique journey to her audience with an emotional, charming, captivating and frightening narrative without the hassle of storytelling. Scarlett Johansson’s most ambitious performance in her career, the film is also the most appalling productions in terms of having the most appalling frames.
Unlike his work on the big screen, Glazer doesn’t tell secrets about his main character, Laura. Under the Skin, we know that this alien woman (which we don’t have any clear proof that she’s essentially an alien, including the film’s finale) comes from, what she serves, why she sets men up, why she chooses men alone. leaves the answers to our own imagination. In addition, a number of events are portrayed in the first minutes of the film, which we will doubt if there is a transformation.
In the first scenes, Glazer, we watch a man on a motorcycle pick up a lifeless body from a deserted place, then get his clothes off by Laura (who accompanied us through the film). We have no idea whether this dead or destroyed woman is Laura herself or the pioneer who served before her. Surprisingly, Glazer may be trying to answer this question of the film with decisions that will lead to a vicious circle.
Laura, descending to the world, starts hunting after buying new clothes. The woman, dressed as a prostitute, fools only the men with her van, which seems odd for her purpose, shoots them at their weakest points and takes them home. In the midst of vast darkness, men have to give up their own lives in order to have Laura. The strange thing is that they are not aware of their actions. Among the other questions of the film are questions about what the liquid they sink into as they step into Laura, what happens to the bodies entering there (in fact, Glazer shows what happens to the bodies, but refrains from detail to avoid giving spoilers;
If there is a plot in Glazer’s film, it is the study of Laura’s passion for human form. While a lonely baby doesn’t even attract the attention he sees on the beach at first, the desires of the alien woman whose human emotions begin to develop over time bring a possible end. The director records Laura’s astonishment, ambition, sadness and fears one after another on her camera.
Breaking out of the real world with the help of spectacular image management and the creepy music-sound combo, the audience suddenly finds itself in Laura, under the influence of Johansson’s mature performance. Her numbness becomes the numbness of the audience, her metamorphosis is the change of the audience. These changes, with one of the film’s most emotional scenes; It starts with Laura picking up a man with a major condition in his van. After the experience with the man in front of the mirror, the woman begins to question himself. She paints a portrait that feels her body and begins to shade her past shadows. Then Laura is on her way to becoming a human.
Glazer feeds the story of the film Under the Skin without the power of the script and the dialogue-free, purely character-based course of character. Without a doubt to hand over all the strings to the audience, a marvelous director makes small journeys between genres with his work. We can say that it is one of the most deserving praise of the year for Hidden Under the Skin, which is a very technically powerful work with its fascinating images, dark shots as well as the theme of the film and music filling the ears instead of characters.
Under the Skin (2014)
Directed by: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, Kevin McAlinden, Andrew Gorman, Joe Szula, Krystof Hádek, Paul Brannigan, Oscar Mills
Screenplay by: Walter Campbell, Jonathan Glazer
Production Design by: Chris Oddy
Cinematography by: Daniel Landin
Film Editing by: Paul Watts
Costume Design by: Steven Noble
Art Direction by: Emer O’Sullivan
Music by: Mica Levi
MPAA Rating: R for graphic nudity, sexual content, some violence and language.
Distributed by: A24 Films
Release Date: April 4, 2014
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