108 mins |
Rated
R (Rated R for graphic nudity, sexual content, some violence and language)
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Starring Paul Brannigan, Jessica Mance, Scarlett Johansson
7:30pm - Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, 2014, UK), 10th Anniversary
Featuring a brief introduction by Dr. Rick Warner!
Jonathan Glazer’s arthouse horror/sci fi film Under the Skin has become something of a cult movie since its original release. The rather sparse and at times abstract plot stages the predatory mission of an unnamed alien (Scarlett Johannson) who masquerades as an earthly woman and lures men to their death inside a black liquid vault. That is, “she” does this until “she” mysteriously veers off course and is transformed from predator into prey in a world where misogynistic violence is endemic. Driven by an astonishingly complex ambient score by Mica Levi, the film exemplifies how suspense can primarily operate in atmospheric terms. In interviews, Glazer stated that he wanted to reinvent the gothic monster for the 21st century with this film. And indeed, Johannson’s impassive extraterrestrial is a kind of vampire figure, at least initially. Under the Skin is also loaded with references to other films, from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey to Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman and Michelangelo Antonioni’s Identification of a Woman. To be sure, the film is partly about the film medium itself.
Part of the film series The Rebirth of Suspense, co-hosted by Kino Corner in conjunction with the publication of Dr. Rick Warner’s new book, The Rebirth of Suspense: Slowness and Atmosphere in Cinema, Columbia University Press.
Read more...
7:30pm - Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, 2014, UK), 10th Anniversary
Featuring a brief introduction by Dr. Rick Warner!
Jonathan Glazer’s arthouse horror/sci fi film Under the Skin has become something of a cult movie since its original release. The rather sparse and at times abstract plot stages the predatory mission of an unnamed alien (Scarlett Johannson) who masquerades as an earthly woman and lures men to their death inside a black liquid vault. That is, “she” does this until “she” mysteriously veers off course and is transformed from predator into prey in a world where misogynistic violence is endemic. Driven by an astonishingly complex ambient score by Mica Levi, the film exemplifies how suspense can primarily operate in atmospheric terms. In interviews, Glazer stated that he wanted to reinvent the gothic monster for the 21st century with this film. And indeed, Johannson’s impassive extraterrestrial is a kind of vampire figure, at least initially. Under the Skin is also loaded with references to other films, from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey to Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman and Michelangelo Antonioni’s Identification of a Woman. To be sure, the film is partly about the film medium itself.
Part of the film series The Rebirth of Suspense, co-hosted by Kino Corner in conjunction with the publication of Dr. Rick Warner’s new book, The Rebirth of Suspense: Slowness and Atmosphere in Cinema, Columbia University Press.
