‎Under the Skin (2013) directed by Jonathan Glazer • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Under the Skin

2013 Directed by Jonathan Glazer

A mysterious seductress preys upon the population of Scotland

Jonathan Glazer's atmospheric, visually arresting abstraction stars Scarlett Johansson as a seductive alien who prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell, only to be consumed by a strange liquid pool.

Scarlett Johansson Kryštof Hádek Paul Brannigan Michael Moreland Scott Dymond Jeremy McWilliams Lynsey Taylor Mackay Dougie McConnell Kevin McAlinden D. Meade Andrew Gorman Joe Szula Roy Armstrong Alison Chand Ben Mills Oscar Mills Lee Fanning Marius Bincu Stephen Horn Adam Pearson May Mewes Gerry Goodfellow Dave Acton Jessica Mance

108 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by James Haves 36

What.

What?

I don't get it.

So?

I don't get it.

At least give it a rating.

But I don't get it.

Was it good?

Yes.

Would you recommend it?

I don't know.

How does that work?

I don't know.

What?

What?

Just give it 2 1/2 or something.

I can't.

Why?

Because it's good.

Then what's the issue?

I don't know.

For fuck's sake.

I don't understand it. It confused me.

Just your plebian mind.

Fuck you.

Fuck you.

You know this whole review is entirely self-indulgent, right?

Yep.

So why are we doing it?

Only thing we could think of.

Oh yeah.

Also we're attention whores who like likes.

That's true.

Want pizza?

Sure.
Review by Adam Cook 79

Fuck knows.
Review by Adam Cook 88

It is rare for me to finish a film and be unable to form any real opinion on it. Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, loosely based on Michel Faber’s novel of the same name, is a film that deliberately defies easy understanding. It is a befuddling, enigmatic and contradictory work that demands total engagement from its audience as it avoids all the trappings of a conventional movie. Yet after I left the theatre, both impressed and disappointed, I have been unable to shake the film from my thoughts.

It is a film of surprising contrasts - it is simultaneously mesmerising yet tedious, surreal yet mundane, erotic yet sterile. It is this internal conflict that makes the film so difficult to…
Review by Bruno ★★★★★ 24

Definitely one of the most audacious, visually stunning and touching films in recent years! Scarlett Johansson gives an outstanding performance here and it’s great to see her doing more alternative roles again. I wasn’t familiar with Jonathan Glazer’s work but I was instantly captivated by the unique story, the extravagant visuals and haunting score. Under the Skin is not only a very compelling drama that examines an emotionless alien who gradually starts to perceive how it feels to be human, but it’s also filled with several enigmatic figures throughout this journey which will make you ponder about them long after seeing the movie. In addition, there were a couple of disturbing moments and one in particular which actually made me…
Review by Todd Gaines ★★★★ 59

ScarJo cruisin' the hills of Scotland and channeling her inner Natasha Henstridge in Jonathan Glazer's incredibly unique one-of-a-kind viewing experience. Motorcycle zoom zoom. ScarJo naked? Hooker high heels. Ants. The way ScarJo looks in her jeans. Red lipstick makes you more fuckable. Minivan cruisin'. Disorganized directions. You should always buckle up for safety. Lonely guy. Chatty chap. Seductive strip. Disappearing wang. Ocean waves. Wetsuit chum. Lifesaver. ScarJo's jacket. Getting hit in the head with a rock fuckin' hurts. Crying baby. Clubbin' for some lovin'. Leprechaun sounding gent. Sexy backwards walk. Weird as fuck faces. Sideways cock. Fade to what the fuckin' fuck fuck fuckin'? Red rose. ScarJo's eyes. Smart dude. Face first fall. Attack the Block rejects. Hoodie man is…
Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 25

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I love it when a straightforward story gets a unique treatment. Glazer's film is deliberately alienating, visually and aurally arresting and singularly engaging. I say the latter with no small amount of reserve as it asks a lot of its audience making it difficult to click with. But click with it I did.

Glazer opens with the birth of Johansson's character. In a beautiful visual sequence, we hear her find her voice followed by a rather disconcerting scene in which she clothes herself. Disconcerting because of the compete lack of empathy for the dead girl she is plucking her new wardrobe from. Against a sterile white background we see her clinically do what needs to be done. She gives the…

Recent reviews

Review by JKA ★★★★★

Perfect.
Review by Peter Gavaris ★★★★

What is an actor? Scarlett Johansson's alien is acting in order to seduce men, but we all act in some way or another. Jonathan Glazer is keenly observing the way we all put on facades when we go out into society, often to leave a good impression. Like Johansson's alien, we hide our true selves under a thin veil of clothing, makeup, and personality. We want to make others like us; we want to draw them in. Glazer emphasizes this by featuring many non actors throughout the film. The scenes with Johansson interacting with various men around Glasgow are so effective, because they don't realize they're acting.
Review by mr_swoops ★★★★★

I FUCKING LOVE THIS MOVIE AND THE SOUNDTRACK
Review by tomkun ★★★★½

Hmmmm.
Review by AlexDude ★★★★½

Me cuesta horrores hacer justicia a esta película con una reseña, probablemente me haría falta empezar de cero con un lenguaje distinto... todo lo que tengo claro es que es una película que realmente vale la pena reevaluar, independientemente de cuál es la primera reacción de cada uno al verla. Un futuro clásico de culto.
Review by Lajia ★★½

Scavenger Hunt #30
Task 8: A film you would not watch with your parents

Obscure. Alienating. Unnerving. Fell asleep midway. Watching this was a challenge. I had to take breaks every now and then 🤷🏻‍♀️. Would put into rewatch list for further understanding and not so guaranteed liking.
Review by Megan McClain ★★★★

Under The Skin is a movie I can't help but watch again. After my initial dismissal of the movie, I've had time for the film to creep back into my thoughts and make a more positive impact. I still don't know what is going on after watching it four times, but it is compelling and beautiful in a weird way.
Review by Sehhaar ★★★★½

IMDb-rating: 6,3/10
Letterboxd-rating: 7,4/10

That's exactly why I love this site! I feel like this movie would be way more appreciated if all of the viewers would actually give it a fair chance, not characterize it as 'artsy crap' after a few minutes and try to understand it's messages. Easily one of the most powerful films of the decade, I really hope that this will be seen as one of those misunderstood masterpieces, like 2001 or Blade Runner, in a few years.
Review by Tim Lawrence ★★★★★ 5

"When was the last time you touched someone?"

When I first saw Under the Skin in 2014, I couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterwards. Though nothing can recapture the initial shock of that first experience, familiarity has done little to dull the film's sheer visceral impact. What Glazer has crafted here is a film of striking contrasts and hauntingly unresolved tensions, one that feels at once immensely full and startlingly intimate. At one extreme, it's utterly clinical and detached; at another, it's wrenchingly emotional. It contains moments of sickening horror side by side with moments of beautiful tenderness, constantly transitioning from the bewilderingly abstract to the mundane and back again. It's almost overwhelmingly complex, and at the same…