Under The Skin-Jonathan Glazer

My interest in Jonathan Glazer became piqued around Oscar season this year (2024) based upon the buzz surrounding Zone of Interest.

I saw his impressive repertoire of music videos he had made on IMDB and the reviews for Under The Skin—both on IMDB and within the comments section of YouTube trailers—hailed him as the next big thing. So naturally I was intrigued and gave this one a watch.

I always keep music video directors that delve into making full length feature films on a short-leash as they never seem to be able to fully transition over without forgetting it is no longer a music video they are making, but a movie. My prime example being Baz Luhrman, who's movies to me all feel like exaggerated versions of that annoying song "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen".

From the outset it became apparent that Glazer's film suffered from a similar syndrome. But, then again, his unique flavor is a long draw that feels as if it is designed to draw you in. With Under The Skin he does it with a Sci-Fi approach, in which the viewer enters through the Iris of an artificial being, in Zone of Interest, it is with a plain black screen, where the sounds of frolic are played at a high level for over five minutes (give or take).

Unlike Luhrman, I found that I don't really mind Glazer's approach. A slow burn is always preferable to being battered over the head with overwhelming CGI-infused imagery.

The slow burn is utilized from beginning to end of Under The Skin and milked throughout every minute of the film.

At times though it felt as if it suffered from a bit of schizophrenia. Sometimes it felt like a horror film, others a Sci-Fi, a mystery, and also dramatic theater. Glazer deliberately mixes a lot of confusing elements through a misty plot and leaves the bulk of heavy lifting in deciphering a meaning to the audience. And I find it doubtful that even he has an answer to the multitude of questions that you walk away with once the credits begin to roll.

Why is the main character seducing these men into her trap? By what does she gain? What dimension do they enter and what pain do they suffer when ensconched in the black liquid? Does she feel pain at the apex of her revealing? Who is the man on the motorcycle? Is this a fairy tale being or an alien?

The score was very good, and I really liked the realistic application of Scarlett Johansen conversating with genuine strangers, but the trail of bread crumbs Glazer intentionally left for me didn't pack enough flavor for me to want to gobble beyond the surface of what I was fed.

Unlike other metaphorically overloaded cerebral logjams like Eraserhead, The Shining, and The Tenet. Films that keep you up at night trying to solve a riddle, this one just left me with a sense of inadequacy.

Not quite as bad as the utter shit that M. Night Shyamalan somehow manages to find witless investors to produce. But nowhere near the ceiling of Kubrik that Glazer was aspiring to reach.

Stars: **1/2

Verdict: Pass

Cousins: Let The Right One In, Species, Vamp, A Bucket of Blood, Audition