The British Film Institute (BFI) has named Jonathan Glazer's 'Under the Skin' as the highest-ranking British film of the 21st century. The sci-fi horror, starring Scarlett Johansson as a seductive alien stalking the streets of Scotland, placed 169th on the BFI's list of the 250 greatest films of all time.
A Divisive Masterpiece
First released in 2013, 'Under the Skin' loosely adapts Michel Faber's novel of the same name. Johansson portrays an extraterrestrial in disguise who targets vulnerable and lonely men. While the novel explicitly reveals the protagonist's motives to slaughter and butcher men for their flesh, the film takes a far more ambiguous approach. Many sequences in which Johansson's character drives around picking up men were unscripted encounters filmed using hidden cameras.
The BFI described the film as 'an astonishing amalgam of fantasy and reality,' praising its 'mind-bending visuals and hallucinatory sound design' and Glazer's use of 'guerrilla filmmaking tactics to capture Glasgow and its unsuspecting inhabitants with intimate realism.'
Critical Reception and Controversy
From its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the film proved divisive. The Guardian reported that 'some saw it as a masterpiece, others as a bore,' with the closing credits met by booing. Despite flopping at the box office, it earned BAFTA nominations for Outstanding British Film and Best Original Music. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 83% approval rating, with the critics' consensus noting: 'Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerising performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.'
The Guardian and Chicago Sun-Times awarded it full five-star ratings, with the latter declaring: 'This is what we talk about when we talk about film as art.' However, debate continues among cinema enthusiasts. More than a decade after its release, one Reddit user mused: 'I just watched Under the Skin and I can't decide whether it is a masterpiece or a terrible movie.' Responses ranged from calling it 'one of the best movies of the previous decade' to a 'masterpiece absolutely,' while another user noted: 'It's one of my favourite films, but one of my friends who I saw it with in theatres despised it.'
'Under the Skin' is currently available to stream on platforms including Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Sky Store and Google Play.
