Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Under The Skin


Scarlett Johansson cruises for lonely guys in her creep van to take back to her house filled with syrup in this Stanley Kubrick-esque sci-fi film. Featuring a cold, detached performance from Johansson, gorgeous deep focus cinematography, and a metallic, enigmatic score, Under The Skin's long, nearly silent scenes of abstract beauty often evoke 2001: A Space Odyssey. A seemingly tranquil moment in the film of a family enjoying a choppy swim in a rocky cove becomes quite harrowing when everyone including the family dog is swept out to sea, leaving a screaming, defenseless infant on the beach as Scarlett pounds the hapless swimmer who attempted to save them in the head with a rock, and then drags his lifeless body back to her van. The film loses momentum in the final third as Johnasson wrestles with assimilation, but the tension ramps back up at the surprising conclusion.




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