Scotland would seem like an unlikely place in which to set a science fiction story about an extra-terrestrial woman who preys on men; yet, this is the setting for Jonathan Glazer's 2013 fantasy movie that is very loosely adapted from Michel Farber's 2000 novel Under The Skin. When Glazer first began to adapt the book for the big screen, he had in mind a blockbuster-esque film, heavy on the special effects, but after over a decade in development, what he ended up with was a bare-bones narrative that showed the human world through the eyes of the other-worldly.
Before making the film, Glazer was primarily known as a music video producer, working with such musical luminaries as Radiohead, Jamiroquai and Massive Attack. He also directed a number of well-known commercials. Although his third film ,this was the first that had received mainstream release and acclaim.
Although the film starred Scarlett Johansson, the majority of the actors in it were not actually actors at all, but "regular", non-thespian people. The film was almost voyeuristic in nature because many of the scenes were filmed using hidden cameras. Consequently the film had something of a reality television feel, and the audience seemed to be viewing the human characters on the screen through the same lens as the aliens.
Under The Skin was one of those films that presents a dilemma as to its place in cinematic history; at the box office, it was a flop, but critics loved it and it received quite a number of awards, begging the question, what makes a truly great movie? Audience appreciation or critical acclaim? The film received the latter in spades and was the recipient of two BAFTA Award nominations, and a slew of wins for composer Mica Levi whose soundtrack was considered to be one of the top ten movie soundtracks of the decade. The BBC declared the film to be one of the one hundred greatest of the twenty-first century.
