"Under the Skin" is a cinematic masterpiece by Jonathan Glazer featuring Scarlett Johansson as an anonymous extra-terrestrial 'The Woman' who with the help of 'The Biker', explores and captures human traits while living amongst them in Glasgow, Scotland. The film presents a unique perspective, placing viewers in the position of aliens, thereby challenging their established perceptions and understanding of humankind. By invoking a sense of unfamiliarity with what is typically familiar, viewers learn to identify and relate with the concept of otherness, questioning notions of humanity.
The film undermines the illusion of human supremacy by organizing a shift in power dynamics, highlighting humans as just another species among many on earth, thereby rejecting the human superiority complex. Through this film, Glazer articulates a critique of the human perception of beauty and launches a challenge for viewers to consider the reality beneath the visible surface or 'under the skin' of the film, to discover the layers and transformation within it.
In the initial part of the film, The Woman operates like a predator using her outer beauty as a lure to seduce men and lead them to their death, effectively portraying the thin line between passion and demise. This action of luring men to their death, is filmed using hidden cameras, giving the scenes a raw, menacing, and documentary-like realism thereby blurring the lines between the imaginary and real, and human and non-human.
With a reference to the industrial violence against animals, she is shown wearing a fur coat, suggesting exploitation and consumption of consumers. By emphasizing the horrific possibility of humans being subjected to the same treatment as animals in slaughterhouses, the film rebukes human exceptionalism and dominance.
While living amongst humans, The Woman experiences humanity's fixation on physical beauty. She uses her attractive appearance to seduce men, therefore forming a cynical commentary on human attraction towards superficial beauty, leading to the devaluation and death of the individuals.
In its opening scene, the film presents an assembly of organs into a body symbolizing the process of creation. The Woman’s character is continually undergoing a transformation and evolution throughout the film. She starts as a feminist monster hunting human flesh, similar to the monstrous females of classical mythology. Despite her ruthless and unempathetic behavior, over time, her character experiences human kindness and develops empathetic feelings towards human vulnerability.
Throughout the narrative, her actions gradually shift from being that of a cold-blooded predator to a vulnerable escaping target. She moves from a position of control in the first half to a place of exploration, intrigue, and discovery in the latter half. Moments of her being one with nature and disconnecting from her environment, emphasize her transition from alien to human.
In the concluding sequences of the film, we witness The Woman trying to assimilate, to become human through actions such as eating, appreciating music, and engaging in physical intimacy. However, her alien identity is revealed when a man assaulting her rips part of her skin revealing the alien beneath. Thus, the film effectively presents a journey from alien to human, a constant process of becoming and transforming, thereby making viewers rethink their perception of human identity, superiority, and behavior.
