The drop-dead gorgeous Scarlett Johansson playing an alien seductress was more than enough to pique my interest in Jonathan Glazer’s newest project, the philosophical sci-fi drama Under the Skin. The more I hear about the film, however, the more intrigued I become.
The plot alone is a major selling point. Johansson plays a Species-esque alien who comes to Earth and begins preying on unsuspecting hitchhikers, seducing them and harvesting their bodies. Glazer apparently uses that creepy premise as a jumping-off point to investigate deeper themes of superficiality, sexuality and human flirtation. Another interesting point: the film is Glazer’s first directorial effort in ten years. The English filmmaker previously helmed 2000’s Sexy Beast and 2004’s Birth, but he’s kept a remarkably low-key profile in recent years, shooting the occasional commercial and music video but little more.
We Got This Covered critic Darren Ruecker raved about Under the Skin when he caught it at TIFF last year. In his four-star review, he commented that, “Those open to an experience that is puzzling, mood-intensive, eerily suspenseful and at times magnificently gorgeous will likely be delighted by a rare cinematic treat,” and concluded that:
Under the Skin may be a challenge to make sense of and connect with, but thanks to many gorgeous and haunting sequences, it proves equally difficult to forget.
So, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Under the Skin is one of my most-anticipated films of 2014. Unfortunately, with a few months still left until the film hits theaters, both you and I will have to make do with a tantalizing set of images that just hit the web. Of course, Johansson is at the center of most of the images, but Glazer’s evocative direction is equally on display. The gorgeous Scottish setting, light filters and shadow-play rank among the techniques we can spot right away, but Under the Skin certainly has many more cinematic tricks up its sleeve.
Check out the images below, and let us know, are you interested in checking out Under the Skin? If so, what’s the bigger draw – Johansson’s revealing and dangerous performance or Glazer’s eerily beautiful camerawork?
Under the Skin hits theaters April 4.
