Ashvegas movie review: Under the Skin

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Just your average night on Patton Ave. (A24)

Just your average night on Patton Ave.
(A24)

The recurring scene at the heart of Under the Skin would make for an excellent music video.  In it, an alien played by Scarlett Johansson cruises around Glasgow for men and, getting one to climb in her white utility van for a lift, lures him back to her place where they proceed to undress.  As the lucky gent follows her across the inky black floor, he unconsciously sinks into an unseen pool of undefined liquid until he’s submerged and once under sees a previous victim who’s reduced to skin.  No deeper meaning necessary; just slick, intriguing visuals, Kubrickian horror string cues, and otherworldly overtones that don’t require deciphering.

What happens when you go swimming less than an hour after eating. (A24)

What happens when you go swimming
less than an hour after eating.
(A24)

As a feature-length film, this oft-repeated premise doesn’t work as well.  One can only take this cycle so many times before it grows dull and with director/co-writer Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) treating each bit of allegedly meaningful information outside this pattern like it’s footage of Bigfoot, takeaways are sadly few.

Evidenced by its passionate critical praise (10 MetaCritic scores of 100), however, the technical aspects are more than enough for many viewers and apparently serve as a gateway for embracing its rather thin premise as something profound.  If there is substance in the pretty pictures and eerie sounds, it’s fleeting at best, leaving Under the Skin a tough sell for even the usual art crowd.

Grade: C

Rated R for graphic nudity, sexual content, some violence and language.

Under the Skin is currently playing at the Carolina Cinemas on Hendersonville Rd.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoSWbyvdhHw]

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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