Under the SkinOooohhh... an erotic scifi thriller. A hot alien babe seduces and kills men - starring Scarlett Johansson.
So let's take stock of what we have:
Sex
Nudity
Scarlett Johansson engaging in both of the above.
Plus alien killings.
This should have been a 100% sure-fire way to make a movie that would, in a worst case scenario, be ever-so-slightly below average. It would take serious effort to screw this up. Sadly, someone decided to put in the effort to do just that.
Take a mental detour and run through
2001 A Space Odyssey in your mind. Now, go back and try to imagine a similar movie with ALL the most memorable parts removed.
Jonathan Glazer, the director of
Under the Skin, seems to be a Stanley Kubrick fanatic who totally missed the concept. Minimalist dialog can be OK, but is NOT supposed to be a competition to set a new record for fewest words spoken in a feature length film. Leaving some items vague and unresolved is NOT an excuse for dumping the whole concept of having a plot. This film is not an homage to Stanley Kubrick. Instead, it's an insult.
I'm also sorry to inform Mr. Glazer that there is no award given by any film group for slowest bite of cake ever seen in a movie. If he really wants to apply for a Guinness World Record on this, no one will ever bother to try to take it away from him. BTW - The real reason she yacked up that bite of cake is probably because it has rotted by the time the director finally let her put it in her mouth.
Sadly, Ms. Johansson appeared to either be suffering terribly throughout the film or else had just had a massive series of botox injections. She had a single frozen expression that was supposed to serve in every scene, or perhaps it was just her attempt to cover the horror she felt being forced to perform in such a pathetic film.
What could have easily been a great movie instead turned into a long, painful experience of intense boredom that gradually escalated into a form of slow torment while
waiting hoping praying for
something important to the plot anything vaguely interesting to happen. A few moments of Ms. Johansson in various stages of undress and a couple of nice shots of Scottish scenery can't come close to making up for the suffering this movie inflicts on anyone watching.
If you are even thinking of watching this film, don't.