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Under The Skin

Started by Butchers Blind, September 03, 2013, 11:38:12 AM

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Butchers Blind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGDnbcq0BkU

New film from Jonathan Glazer.

Really liked Sexy Beast but his follow up Birth was perhaps one of the most boring experiences I've had at a cinema.
Not sure what to make of this as the trailer's all style with no sense of plot - apparently something to do with aliens sent to earth.

CaledonianGonzo

The book it's based on is.....a bit of a curate's egg.

With no clue as to what it was about when I read it, events certainly took a few unexpected turns along the way.

I can't believe it's his first film in almost ten years. I thought Birth was pretty interesting, definitely a unique premise. Really enjoyed Sexy Beast.

That trailer is completely incomprehensible. Tense though. I just assumed it was another American one, especially with Scarlett in there, but that trailer definitely didn't look like the US. Those beaches looked Scottish to me, and yes, I've just googled it, I was right, filmed in Scotland. Yet I'm not deleting my initial stuff in an effort to show you all my perceptive eagle eyes.

Wonder if she's gonna try the accent or be an Ex-pat. 
EDIT: Or
Spoiler alert
ALIEN!?
[close]

holyzombiejesus

I remember enjoying the book but can't remember too much about it apart from a very basic synopsis. The book was set in the highlands I think, certainly Scotland. From what I do remember, this is going to involve a fair amount of CGI and bloody violence, not to mention mild peril.

Sam

I read and enjoyed the book, although once the massive twist came it petered out into overcooked allegory.

The joy of the book is the twist but I suppose in the age of the Internet no one will keep quiet about it. Xan Brooks's Guardian review was full of spoilers.

Without the surprise of the shift and the change in genre to keep it arresting I suppose the film will live or die on its atmospherics and whether it can make the 3rd act less contrived than the book.

El Unicornio, mang

#5
I'll definitely see this. Love Scarlett (and she looks lovely in this with that black wig) and like Glazer's work (Birth was so-so). It's getting rave reviews from most, and a couple of reviews have totally panned it, which I tend to see as a good sign with this type of film.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/venice-film-festival/10283407/Under-the-Skin-Venice-Film-Festival-review.html

Interesting that they used a hidden camera to get the reaction of people seeing her on the streets of Glasgow. There's some pics here http://www.justjared.com/2012/10/24/scarlett-johansson-under-the-skin-re-shoots/ of her falling over on some street in Glasgow and people helping her up. Looking forward to seeing that scene on film!

CaledonianGonzo

#6
Quote from: Sam on September 03, 2013, 11:13:22 PM
I read and enjoyed the book, although once the massive twist came it petered out into overcooked allegory.

The joy of the book is the twist but I suppose in the age of the Internet no one will keep quiet about it. Xan Brooks's Guardian review was full of spoilers.

Without the surprise of the shift and the change in genre to keep it arresting I suppose the film will live or die on its atmospherics and whether it can make the 3rd act less contrived than the book.

From the reviews, it looks like the plot's changed substantially and they've just kept the central conceit without moving through the mechanics of the latter stages of the story.

Johansson was apparently in Nice'n'Sleazys one night during shooting getting the drinks in.  To think of all the nights I've been in that place when ScarJo wasn't part of the backdrop.  I've wasted my life.

Edit:  Ouch.  MASSIVE MASSIVE spoilers in The Independent's review.

biggytitbo

If they're going to do shape shifting liens in Scotland they should just remake Terror of the Zygons.

El Unicornio, mang

#8
Finished the book last night. Major page turner (finished it in two nights) and a very enjoyable read (marred slightly by knowing the twist, which isn't really a twist with the film as it's the basic plot synopsis) although I thought the ending was a bit abrupt. The whole idea of
Spoiler alert
aliens coming to Earth and harvesting us for food, as we do to animals, is one I've thought about a lot before so wasn't a particularly new concept for me (or most people who read it), but it was handled in an effective and creepy way. Couldn't quite get a mental image of what the aliens looked like, something between a human, an ape and a llama?
[close]

Seems like the film is going to be very different though,
Spoiler alert
Scarlett being an idealistic human looking beauty rather than the carved up and stitched together alien/human hybrid of the book.
[close]

Also, re: her accent, one review mentions her:

Quoteimpeccable, cut-glass English accent

vrailaine

Really looking forward to this; if there's one thing that attracts my attention more than incredibly positives reviews, it's mostly positive reviews but with a fair number of terrible ones too. I'll be going to it, anyways.

So Birth might be worth watching then?

El Unicornio, mang

Birth is OK (from what I remember). Kidman is very good in it but it's very slow and quite dull and I found the main idea a bit too silly. Worth a watch if you like slow burners like Rosemary's Baby though.

biggytitbo

Scarlett's got her knockers, but she looks good in this. I hear you get to see everything.

vrailaine

Rosemary's Baby is a slow burner?

Downloading it now, anyways.

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: vrailaine on September 05, 2013, 11:28:06 PM
Rosemary's Baby is a slow burner?


It's one of the most infamous slow-burners!

Sony Walkman Prophecies

These sub-Kubrick films seem to be all the rage now don't they? This recent Lithuanian film has a virtually identical trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqVAn5TpaME

Steven

Oof, yes. The soundtrack even sounds like the disturbing bees and orchestra string scraping when the Monolith shows up in 2001. I saw that Beyond The Black Rainbow and thought it was shite, visually good though I suppose in that it looked like Kubrick, but the story and script had a naive and juvenile quality to it. Does the fact they get the cinematography close to Kubrick considered a talent, or just barefaced theft? ..Genius steals and all that?

Sony Walkman Prophecies

It's difficult to complain when there's so little worth watching at the cinema, but I can't help feeling a bit ripped off with these outings. Is the photography even comparable to Kubrick? I'm not so sure. Kubrick started out as a photo-journalist and had an impeccable eye for symmetry within each frame. These homages feel more like the stuff you'd churn out after a few years spent adobe-editing your Canon 5DII footage.

Are the orchestras even real in these things? It's all starting to sound like the same recycled Logic sound patch to me. I'll probably go to see the latest Glazer anyway despite having typed out all that nonsense.


Sam

This got rave reviews on Film 2014.

It looks absolutely incredible. Pretty excited about seeing something different and experimental.

El Unicornio, mang

5 stars from Total Film, 3 from Empire. Kermode gave it a pretty good review, with some reservations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNyfE8ZCGs0

Very good English accent from Johansson, going by the clip in that vid

SteveDave

That is a good English voice. I think I'll wait for the DVD & a quiet morning.

Bobby Treetops

#21
Saw it today, an astounding piece of film making that will resonate with me for a while. Shot in a naturalistic manner, almost half surreal sci-fi, half documentary, with an effecting soundtrack, it shows Scottish cities and countryside through the eyes of an alien, giving everyday life and people a strange and disconcerting feel.
Spoiler alert
The scene on the beach left me feeling stunned by it's bleakness and horror
[close]
.

If this hasn't sold you then Scarlett Johansson bears her amazing bottom on several occasions. 

Olarrio

Yeah, it was incredible. One scene in particular affected me deeply, while there was a general feeling of dread and confusion running throughout. Look forward to reading peoples' opinions as they see it.

I just watched an episode of Game of Thrones but it was a waste as I was just thinking about Under the Skin.

And, oh!, Scarlett.

olliebean

Doesn't look my my local Vue is planning to show it, unfortunately. Bastards. (Earlier in the week they had it on their "Coming soon" list but it's gone from there now and not appeared in the current schedule.)

vrailaine

Quote from: olliebean on March 15, 2014, 11:09:24 PM
Doesn't look my my local Vue is planning to show it, unfortunately. Bastards. (Earlier in the week they had it on their "Coming soon" list but it's gone from there now and not appeared in the current schedule.)
Same for me, that cinema often has them a week later when it does that though. I suspect it's somehow based on how they perform in other places in the first week.

hayduke_lives

Saw this yesterday. Still not sure whether I enjoyed it (although maybe enjoyed is the wrong word here), but I've never had a cinema experience quite like it. Total silence for the whole film. Nobody rustling sweet wrappers or mucking about with phones. And then when it finished the whole audience (a decent sized, sold out screening) exhaled collectively. I'd totally recommend it but I couldn't really say why.

non capisco

I found the whole thing beguiling and disturbing in a way I'm finding it quite hard to articulate but I can say that the scene with the
Spoiler alert
orphaned baby left on the beach
[close]
chilled me to the marrow.

Wet Blanket

Found it utterly mesmerising, disturbing and unique. Totally blown away by it, just a wholly bizarre and invigorating cinematic experience - this must be how people felt when they first saw Eraserhead.


lipsink

Yep, this was an incredible experience. Loved it and it's haunted me afterwards in the same way Mulholland Drive did. Fucking hell,
Spoiler alert
that shot of the baby on the beach left alone I also found unbearable. I just wanted to reach through the screen and help him. Likewise, the scene with the deformed man was just heartbreaking.
[close]

popcorn

Great film. Haven't seen anything so utterly, utterly alien since Space Odyssey. Great soundtrack too.