Under the Skin (2014)
A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.
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I enjoy movies where it takes a while to figure out what is going on. I thought this was one of those movies so I was enjoying the tease and the wonder of what was happening. In the end they explain nothing. I'd give it 2 stars for plot and writing but I bump it to 5 stars for the interesting visuals.
The fun of this movie is figuring out the what's going on. You should flesh out the major plot points in the first 20 minutes and then movie is a passive experience. There are some stunning visuals that impact you viscerally. It's about the development of empathy and watching her develop it thru experience and observation. It's also kind of silly to have on of the most beautiful women in the world struggling to pick up men for one night stands. She's without any charisma. Anyone could have played this role. It's mindbogglingly boring and thematically redundant.
Watch the first 10 mins skip to the 1 hour mark and you missed nothing. After the 1 hour mark is not much better but different.
Where to begin with this movie... Saying the plot drags is an almost unforgivable understatement. It was easy enough to mostly figure out what was going on early in the movie and then the plot just repeats itself multiple times, telling you things you already know with painfully long takes of mostly aesthetically boring scenes, or gratuitous scenes of Scarlett Johnasson getting naked. Near the end, the twist is a variation of a predictable trope that doesn't lead anywhere meaningful and then the movie dies with a whimper.There is little character development, and almost no dialog. Scarlett Johansson's character, really the only character in the movie, is incredibly flat. It's logical for the character she plays, but that character's story just isn't interesting enough to dedicate an hour an 48 minutes to.The beginning of the movie has enough mystery to keep it interesting for a little while, and there are a couple striking, visually interesting scenes which pull it off of an otherwise well deserved 1 star rating for me. I feel this movie would have been much better as a short film, and all important elements could have been fit into 30 minutes.