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Pirate Jet
May 2, 2010


Under the Skin is an upcoming movie directed by Jonathon Glazer, starring Scarlett Johansson. It's adapted from the novel by Michael Faber.

An alien disguised as a human woman prowls the streets of Scotland for hitchhikers to kidnap. Then she starts to feel Real Bad about it.

The movie is being released on April 4th, 2014 in the US.

The score is being done by Mica Levi, otherwise known as the frontwoman of Micachu and the Shapes. It's really good! You can listen to it for free until April 1st on Pitchfork Advance, here.

Totally rad trailer that doesn't tell you anything:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2g4WC8yosk

More average trailer that actually tells you things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7bAZCOk0Sc

Quick FAQ:

How similar is it to the book?
Aside from the general conceit of "alien kidnaps men," not at all. Not even the protagonist's name is the same. Please don't complain about this.

Viral marketing?
Sure, if you're into that. Please be aware that some are mildly :nws:
http://i.minus.com/idEgzMwYUSz4m.jpg (Yes, it was an actual Craigslist ad for a while)
http://1-of-many.com/
http://touched-some1.com/
http://t0uch-me.com/

:byodood: I HEARD THAT -
Don't be weird about it.

---

Totally hyped for this, haven't been this excited for a movie in months. Looks like the perfect brand of creepy, like someone made a movie adaptation of Get Color or something.

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Tender Bender
Sep 17, 2004

Wait what, I'm pretty sure I watched a trailer for this that didn't even suggest any alien business. Posting from my phone so I'm not sure if it's the one in your post. That's pretty fun marketing.

Neo Rasa
Mar 8, 2007
Everyone should play DUKE games.

:dukedog:
So is this like a more grounded remake of Lifeforce or something? Seems rad.

Pirate Jet
May 2, 2010
Also a fun thing to keep in mind is that many of the people that Laura picks up weren't even told it was for a movie (or that they were picked up by Scarlett Johansson) until they arrived at the destination, so their reactions are completely earnest.

Pirate Jet fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Apr 14, 2014

justlikedunkirk
Dec 24, 2006
Saw this last fall at TIFF, and I'm not over the moon about it like a lot of critics are. Yes, it's undeniably cinematic, it has some incredible sequences (I'll still spoiler this despite being vague, but the full reveal of what happens to these men is legitimately horrifying), and Glazer is indeed the closest thing to Kubrick I've seen since his death, but I just couldn't connect to what was going on.

I'd love to see it again though, as I could change my mind. I came away appreciating it more than enjoying it, but despite seeing ~20 films over a 10 day period that's one of the few that still sticks with me. So I usually recommend this awkwardly, because I still think something this original and weird deserves to be seen even if it didn't necessarily work for me.

Chthon
May 29, 2013
Any Canadian goons know if this will be getting released in Canada at some point? I've really been wanting to see it lately but can't find any info on a release whatsoever, was its appearance at TIFF all we're getting? A two-week run at a single theatre in a single city in the whole country is kinda pathetic.

Vargo
Dec 27, 2008

'Cuz it's KILLIN' ME!
I have to say, the idea of these horny craigslist guys thinking they're going to hookup and callin that number is hilarious.

MisterBibs
Jul 17, 2010

dolla dolla
bill y'all
Fun Shoe

Pirate Jet posted:

:byodood: I HEARD THAT -
Don't be weird about it.

For those of us playing at home and can't read your mind, could you elaborate?

Olympic Mathlete
Feb 25, 2011

:h:

Watched the trailer, it looks pretty weird. Colour me interested.

Aphrodite
Jun 27, 2006

MisterBibs posted:

For those of us playing at home and can't read your mind, could you elaborate?

He's talking about the nude scenes.

Pirate Jet
May 2, 2010

Chthon posted:

Any Canadian goons know if this will be getting released in Canada at some point? I've really been wanting to see it lately but can't find any info on a release whatsoever, was its appearance at TIFF all we're getting? A two-week run at a single theatre in a single city in the whole country is kinda pathetic.

I kinda made this thread too early - I assumed the release date was April 4th but apparently that's only for NYC. It's getting a wide release on the 18th, from what I can tell.

Vargo posted:

I have to say, the idea of these horny craigslist guys thinking they're going to hookup and callin that number is hilarious.

This is precisely what's so funny to me. There's multiple of them, too.

Aphrodite posted:

He's talking about the nude scenes.

Yeah. As Professor Clumsy noted in his (really good and makes me even more hyped!) review, it kinda dominates the discussion whenever the movie is brought up.

Pirate Jet fucked around with this message at 07:47 on Apr 8, 2014

Tomtrek
Feb 5, 2006

I've had people walk out on me before, but not when I was being so charming.



This has been playing in a few different cinemas in London, so I've been able to see it twice now, and I'm going to have to echo basically everything Professor Clumsy said in his review - I really really liked this film.

I'd honestly recommend going into the film knowing as little as possible, as I found it much more interesting working out what was happening and what was going to happen myself (the film does not feed you exposition or hand-hold you at all and assumes you're smart enough to put the pieces together and work it out for yourself).

The thing that impressed me the most about it is how totally not gratuitous it all was. In what could have been a very leery film that objectified it's lead actress (y'know, like Species), we get a film that very much shows you objectification, but never encourages you to participate in it and instead lets you see its damaging results. The main character is objectified by almost every other person she meets, she was created literally as an object for men to look at, and as we start to connect with her as the film goes on we see how her growth into something more human is repeatedly stopped by being treated as an object.

Scarlett Johannson's performance was amazing, for someone who is essentially playing an emotionless creature you are still able to empathise with her totally. There are a few scenes which consist just of her either staring into mirrors or out into space, and they're some of the best scenes in the film. And when she speaks, which she doesn't do very much, you get this really creepy sense of the falseness of what she's saying.

It's kind of a shame that a film that comes down this hard on objectification will probably always be known as "that one where ScarJo gets naked".

Cacator
Aug 6, 2005

You're quite good at turning me on.

I too live in the uncultured wastelands of Canada and am not sure if/when I'll be able to see this film, but I read the book recently and loved it, and while I know the movie is basically unrelated I'm wondering if any particular scenes or elements are taken from the book besides the general premise. Such as do we see what her alien form is? Do we meet the other aliens? Are any of the men she meets based on the men in the book? One thing I would have really liked to see from the book is what the "monthlings" look like but from what I gather that angle's been changed entirely.

Pirate Jet
May 2, 2010

Cacator posted:

I too live in the uncultured wastelands of Canada and am not sure if/when I'll be able to see this film, but I read the book recently and loved it, and while I know the movie is basically unrelated I'm wondering if any particular scenes or elements are taken from the book besides the general premise. Such as do we see what her alien form is? Do we meet the other aliens? Are any of the men she meets based on the men in the book? One thing I would have really liked to see from the book is what the "monthlings" look like but from what I gather that angle's been changed entirely.

Based on what I've heard - it hasn't opened near me yet - you never see her home planet, though you do see other aliens she works with, in their human forms.

Tomtrek
Feb 5, 2006

I've had people walk out on me before, but not when I was being so charming.



Pirate Jet posted:

Based on what I've heard - it hasn't opened near me yet - you never see her home planet, though you do see other aliens she works with, in their human forms.

To elaborate on this - You see four other members of her race, who are all disguised as bikers in full leathers. At the very end of the film you see her "true" form. You never see another planet.

Rain Temple
Apr 29, 2008

ECIFIRCAS KIMSOK
I felt so torn about this film when I heard it was coming out. On one hand it's meant to be an artistic, intelligent scifi set in Glasgow (or maybe just filmed here? I'm not sure) and I can't think of anything more I'd want in a film. On the other hand, though, I tried to read the book when I was a teenager and couldn't finish it because it creeped me out so much. I'm a wuss, I know, but something about when you find out what's actually going on with the men she picks up really disturbed me.

So in other words, the film sounds like it would be amazing, but I probably won't be going anywhere near it because the book scared the crap out of me ten years ago.

Tsyni
Sep 1, 2004
Lipstick Apathy

Pirate Jet posted:

Also a fun thing to keep in mind is that many of the people that Laura picks up weren't even told it was for a movie (or that they were picked up by Scarlett Johansson) until they arrived at the destination, so their reactions are completely earnest.

I didn't know this going in, and I am glad that I didn't. Definitely echoing not knowing anything before you go to see this movie.

I saw it at TIFF and I was blown away. At that point I hadn't seen anything by Jonathan Glazer (I've since watched Birth which I greatly enjoyed) and I really had no idea about the movie. It was sort of a happy coincidence that I even went to see it.

I highly recommend going to see this.

fookolt
Mar 13, 2012

Where there is power
There is resistance
I'm a little surprised this is on the second page of the forums because I just came back from the movie and I am just blown away. This is one of the best things I've ever seen.

And it's honestly not scary at all. There are some really unsettling and disturbing parts, but nothing that should have you hosed up.

Coaaab
Aug 6, 2006

Wish I was there...

fookolt posted:

I'm a little surprised this is on the second page of the forums because I just came back from the movie and I am just blown away. This is one of the best things I've ever seen.
Yeah, if you're into heady, aurally-dominating sci-fi like 2001, Solaris, Beyond the Black Rainbow, and Upstream Color, this is an absolute must-see, the film you've been waiting for this year. Look, here's a list of theaters currently playing the movie, so just go, just go. It has the best opening sequence I've seen since... I guess Melancholia, and then after an hour it sort of loses momentum until that stunning final sequence...

fookolt posted:

And it's honestly not scary at all. There are some really unsettling and disturbing parts, but nothing that should have you hosed up.
I found the ending profoundly upsetting, and it's such a testament to both Glazer & ScarJo that the extent of my empathy for such foreign creature was so gradually calibrated that it actually made me queasy.

fookolt
Mar 13, 2012

Where there is power
There is resistance

Coaaab posted:

Yeah, if you're into heady, aurally-dominating sci-fi like 2001, Solaris, Beyond the Black Rainbow, and Upstream Color, this is an absolute must-see, the film you've been waiting for this year. Look, here's a list of theaters currently playing the movie, so just go, just go. It has the best opening sequence I've seen since... I guess Melancholia, and then after an hour it sort of loses momentum until that stunning final sequence...
I found the ending profoundly upsetting, and it's such a testament to both Glazer & ScarJo that the extent of my empathy for such foreign creature was so gradually calibrated that it actually made me queasy.

Yes, the ending was definitely upsetting. This movie is astounding.

Also, do you have any insight into the opening scene? I didn't really understand it but it's probably because I'm a dummy :(

DammitJanet
Dec 26, 2006

Nice shootin', Tex.
Well, guess I'll have to be the first to say "meh".

I saw it last night, and I was really pumped going in, but I left feeling like it was more "interesting" than "enthralling". More of an experiment than a story. I certainly don't agree with all the critics who have gushed over it and given it such intense blurbs. I kind of wish I hadn't known the premise beforehand, because the "alien" angle isn't entirely hammered home until the end, so had I known nothing going in, I might have been asking more questions. Given there was a viral marketing campaign, maybe it was the producers' intention for people to have a rudimentary idea of what to expect.

What really brought it down for me was the use of several art house tropes that feel kind of tired to me at this point. I couldn't help seeing a formula of static camera + avant garde score + symbolic imagery (insects, crying baby, nudity, almost any shot involving an eye) + stylistic nods to Kubrick = ART HOUSE MOVIE. The final insult for me was the last shot tilting up toward the falling snow and then cutting to black/DIRECTED BY JONATHAN GLAZER, which has sadly become the cinematic equivalent of dropping the mic and walking off stage. I just feel like I've seen all these devices used before in more memorable films. I wish they'd been a little less focused on reminding me what kind of movie I was watching and more focused on telling the story. I also don't know if I buy into the whole "Glazer drawing attention to the artifice of cinema" stuff in Professor Clumsy's review. The visuals are stunning at times (when the image isn't so drenched in shadow that you can actually tell what's going on), and the performances are wonderful (so nice to see ScarJo take a break from Marvel-land to do some actual acting), but it all seems like a lot of work just to make the statement that "women are treated differently than men". Not the most original concept, but kudos to him for using a sci-fi conceit to make that point. At the very least it draws people into the theaters, especially given who he cast as the lead. But what if it wasn't Johansson? What if it was some nobody actress? Would people be saying the same things? Would it still make the same impact? Maybe people are just so sick of all the sci-fi bullshit major studios have been feeding us that it's affected their opinion. Who knows?

So, yeah. Thought provoking, and definitely worth seeing, but for something considered so "original" and "new", it feels awfully familiar to me.

DammitJanet fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Apr 17, 2014

Tsyni
Sep 1, 2004
Lipstick Apathy

DammitJanet posted:

but it all seems like a lot of work just to make the statement that "women are treated differently than men". Not the most original concept, but kudos to him for using a sci-fi conceit to make that point.

I felt much more like he was exploring what it means to be human. At first it's just juxtapositions between human and alien, like on the beach, but we begin to see and feel it just as Scarlett Johansson does. I didn't really get the "women are treated differently than men" feeling at all, or at least it didn't seem to be the primary message of the film.

Though, you could still argue it's not an original concept. I just think it was done very well.

Tsyni fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Apr 17, 2014

DammitJanet
Dec 26, 2006

Nice shootin', Tex.

Tsyni posted:

"women are treated differently than men"

I was referring to the SA review linked earlier in the thread. My bad.

Tsyni
Sep 1, 2004
Lipstick Apathy

DammitJanet posted:

I was referring to the SA review linked earlier in the thread. My bad.

Well, obviously my bad, I totally missed that, and it's certainly an interesting way to look at the film.

Swabbleflange
Apr 18, 2008

fookolt posted:

Also, do you have any insight into the opening scene? I didn't really understand it but it's probably because I'm a dummy :(

I took it as the creature essentially being constructed. The coming together of what ultimately becomes a human eyeball - along with the rest of the body, I assume, and the repeated practise and refinement of speech until it's good to go.

Coaaab posted:

Yeah, if you're into heady, aurally-dominating sci-fi like 2001, Solaris, Beyond the Black Rainbow, and Upstream Color

Three of those being favourite films of mine, I just checked out Beyond the Black Rainbow, which I never would have bothered with based on its Netflix picture and blurb. Outstanding. I was in love with it in the first five minutes, it ticks so many boxes for me. Thanks for mentioning it in context with those others.

Swabbleflange fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Apr 18, 2014

ShoogaSlim
May 22, 2001
Probation
Can't post for 14 hours!
Went to go see this Thursday here in NYC. I saw one trailer for it in theaters about a month ago which didn't reveal much and one of my friends had seen it who said he liked it so I figured why the hell not.

It's definitely the type of film that I appreciate more than I actually enjoy but I did find it to be very enthralling. The visuals are breathtaking and the soundtrack is so mesmerizing. I'm listening to it now again on Spotify and it's creeping me out in the best way possible.

I absolutely love the less is more approach to dialogue. I remember reading an interview with Nicolas Winding Refn where he said he wanted to do a completely silent film and it was evident when I saw Only God Forgives. Maybe someone can give me a good recommendation for films with very little or no dialogue at all?

Scarlett Johansen is not someone I typically identify with being a good actor but she played the part extremely well. Her motivation behind turning good was a little odd for me and the scenes with her and the dude who takes her in were the low points of the film for me. The ending, as others have said, was incredible. Again, don't tell/show more than you have to and leave it at that.

fookolt
Mar 13, 2012

Where there is power
There is resistance

Swabbleflange posted:

I took it as the creature essentially being constructed. The coming together of what ultimately becomes a human eyeball - along with the rest of the body, I assume, and the repeated practise and refinement of speech until it's good to go.


Three of those being favourite films of mine, I just checked out Beyond the Black Rainbow, which I never would have bothered with based on its Netflix picture and blurb. Outstanding. I was in love with it in the first five minutes, it ticks so many boxes for me. Thanks for mentioning it in context with those others.

That makes total sense and thanks for more info on Beyond the Black Rainbow; can't wait to see that one!

FoneBone
Oct 24, 2004
stupid, stupid rat creatures
It doesn't surprise me, given my nerd-boner for surreal, arty sci-fi, that Under the Skin is easily my favorite film of 2014 so far. Though I recognize the necessity from a marketing perspective, it's so deliberately opaque that I almost wish I'd gone in knowing nothing whatsoever about the premise – this is a film whose narrative is almost entirely driven by images, with what little dialogue there is serving little to no expository purpose. It's beautiful, moving, and thought-provoking; it may be divisive now, but I'm confident this is a film people will still be discussing years – even decades – from now,

And while we all know Scarlett Johansson has given some less-than-memorable performances in the past, she deserves all the praise she's getting. Both here and in Spike Jonze's Her, she's taken potentially absurd premises and delivered acting that makes them believable (an interesting study in contrasts, as in Her Johansson never appears onscreen, whereas her performance here is almost entirely physical).

User-Friendly
Apr 27, 2008

Is There a God? (Pt. 9)
Saw it tonight and liked it a whole lot. One guy in my theater kept repeatedly checking his phone (I'm pretty sure I saw that he was on the IMDb boards, which is pretty funny), and eventually he got up and left while she was staring into the mirror after meeting up with the deformed guy. Doubt he knew what he was walking into.

Rageaholic
May 31, 2005

Old Town Road to EGOT

I saw this this afternoon after watching the trailers in the OP of this thread and being totally intrigued. What an interesting movie. I have a feeling it'll be sticking with me for a long time.

I had to read the drat plot synopsis on IMDB though, because while I felt I had a good handle on most of the movie, there were some points when I was completely lost. I think I understand it better now, though.

The cinematography in this was amazing. What kind of camera was this shot with? I was wondering throughout the entire movie and thought I might find out during the end credits but I never did. The whole thing had this distinct look to it that sets it apart from most other movies.

Also was the Scottish dialogue supposed to sound alien to play off Johansson's character's nature? I could make out parts of what some of the guys were saying, but other parts just sounded completely unintelligible. I mean, maybe that's just how Scottish people talk, but for instance, I could understand the dialogue in Trainspotting a lot easier than I could in this movie :v: I was gonna say maybe I should watch it with subtitles when it comes out on Blu-Ray to understand what the hell those guys were saying, but it's almost better not knowing and thinking nearly everyone in the movie is an alien.

cubicle gangster
Jun 26, 2005

magda, make the tea
Thats how people from glasgow talk. they didnt know they were going to be in a movie until after the drive when they were told and asked if they wanted to be a part of this.
I think you should still read some more on it... the SA review is really good.

I loved this. over half the room walked out though and some people were dicks about it, talking and trying to make jokes. properly annoyed me.

Rageaholic
May 31, 2005

Old Town Road to EGOT

cubicle gangster posted:

Thats how people from glasgow talk. they didnt know they were going to be in a movie until after the drive when they were told and asked if they wanted to be a part of this.
That's pretty loving cool though. Guess a bunch of them were down with it then.

Even the guy with Elephantitis was just a guy on the street? Because that'd be a real trip if so :stare:

Coaaab
Aug 6, 2006

Wish I was there...

Rageaholic Monkey posted:

Even the guy with Elephantitis was just a guy on the street? Because that'd be a real trip if so :stare:
That guy was just an actor. There was actually a mix of actors and random dudes for the hidden camera stuff.

Sir Kodiak
May 14, 2007


Rageaholic Monkey posted:

Also was the Scottish dialogue supposed to sound alien to play off Johansson's character's nature? I could make out parts of what some of the guys were saying, but other parts just sounded completely unintelligible. I mean, maybe that's just how Scottish people talk, but for instance, I could understand the dialogue in Trainspotting a lot easier than I could in this movie :v: I was gonna say maybe I should watch it with subtitles when it comes out on Blu-Ray to understand what the hell those guys were saying, but it's almost better not knowing and thinking nearly everyone in the movie is an alien.

Yes, I took this as aiding our empathy for Scarlett Johansson's alien perception of humanity. She's our POV character so we share in barely being able to understand the babbling of the people she interacts with.

Kaedric
Sep 5, 2000

Based on the things typed above I went and saw this, and it was really good! It definitely goes in the category of "I loved this, but I can never recommend it to anyone," like Only God Forgives and Valhalla Rising.

I have rarely had my heart racing during a movie like that but the scene at the beach with the abandoned child.. oh my god I was just like silently wishing for the scene to end. It's probably just because I have children but jesus my mouth was probably hanging open like an idiot.

When the movie ended no one even got up to leave or said anything. It was just dead quiet for like a solid minute before someone got up the nerve to leave, and no one was even talking in the halls, just dead silent.

Popcorn
May 25, 2004

You're both fuckin' banned!
It's one of the best films I've ever seen. Really, truly feels like no human has made it.

Taear
Nov 26, 2004

Ask me about the shitty opinions I have about Paradox games!

Rageaholic Monkey posted:

Also was the Scottish dialogue supposed to sound alien to play off Johansson's character's nature? I could make out parts of what some of the guys were saying, but other parts just sounded completely unintelligible.

They spoke in Glaswegian accents and Trainspotting is Edinburgh. That said none of them had paticularly bad accents so I think it's all down to you!

I guess I enjoyed it. It was an interesting ride, but I don't get all the utter love for it. Like someone else said earlier in the thread it's not really doing anything that we've not seen before. I found it got a little samey, in fact.
REALLY different from the book too!

No Wave
Sep 18, 2005

HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!
I don't get what's with all these incredibly unsexy movies that are ostensibly about sex. It's depressing.

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD
Sep 14, 2007

everything is yours

No Wave posted:

I don't get what's with all these incredibly unsexy movies that are ostensibly about sex. It's depressing.

What's another example?

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trip9
Feb 15, 2011

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:

What's another example?

Does Nymphomaniac count?

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