#walter campbell

[terrencemalice]

Under The Skin (2013) Dir. Jonathan Glazer Cinematography by Daniel Landin

A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.

[sesiondemadrugada]

Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013).

[pepolopez]

Coco de Mer: X

TBWA\London creative director Walter Campbell. 

Shot by a collective of directors including celebrity and fashion photographer Rankin, along with Vicky Lawton, Trisha Ward, and David Allain.

[kirstscreativecorner]

Erotic...

Erotic emporium Coco de Mer has teamed up with TBWA London and Rankin to produce a risqué short film/piece of content. It may offend some, so I’m not posting here, but if you want to peek then you know where to click

The Creative Director was Walter Campbell, an absolute hero of mine. You can see his influence all over this, he of Guinness Surfers.

[genevieveetguy]

- Why are you in Scotland? - I just... wanted to get away from it all. - Yeah? Why here? - Because it's... It's nowhere.

Under the Skin, Jonathan Glazer (2013)

[katesmovies]

Katie Goes To The Movies: Under the Skin

Title: Under the Skin

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Screenwriter: Walter Campbell (screenplay), Michael Faber (novel), and Jonathan Glazer (screenplay)

Executive Producers: Claudia Bluehuber, Florian Dargel, Ian Hutchinson, and Tessa Ross

Producers: Nick Wechsler and James Wilson

Cinematographer: Daniel Landin

Principal Cast: Scarlett Johannson, Jeremy McWilliams, and Lynsey Taylor Mackay -- via imdb

I went into Under the Skin with expectations. I usually try not to do that but it was a smaller movie that has been out in bigger cities for a while so it was hard to avoid articles and reviews. One of those statements came from another blogger I follow who lives in LA and the words she used were ‘messed up’ which was interesting. There are certain levels of violence that I can handle and others that I can’t. For example gore doesn’t bother me. While gore sometimes makes me want to cover my eyes or scream into my hands it’s rarely a deal breaker. I mean, Hannibal is one of my favorite shows. Sexualized violence, however, is something I can’t handle. I didn’t make it more than two episodes into Game of Thrones for this reason. I watched the trailer for Under the Skin and was a little worried because it seemed like sex was being used as a weapon and that isn’t something I like. However, it looked interesting enough that I wanted to give it a look.

Under the Skin is a disturbing train wreck in the sense that it’s almost impossible to look away from what’s happening on screen despite how much you may want to.

-- via rottemtomatos.com

Our story follows an alien (Scarlett Johansson), credited as Laura but never referred to, as she travels along the Scottish countryside. She uses her body to lure men into her home only to kill them.

I honestly can’t describe it anymore than that. The story in Under the Skin is unique in that it’s barely there but virtually impenetrable. There really isn’t much going on as Laura makes her way from man to man in her windowless white van. You see her interacting with people and luring men in but it’s almost obvious that she doesn’t quite understand that it was going on. There are social cues that she misses that makes her slip into the uncanny valley. At first glance she looks human but as soon as she moves or speaks it becomes eerily obvious that something inhuman lies, well, underneath the skin.

That kind of acting is very hard to pull off especially since they don’t give Johansson any eerie features. She looks like any other woman walking down the street so it takes some serious acting to pull off the uncanny valley we well as Johansson does. This is Johansson as her very best and anyone who doubts that she is just another pretty face in a sea of pretty faces need only see Under the Skin to accept that she’s one of best actresses in the business. Her body, which is also fully on display here, is a bonus that comes with a smart actress who always makes interesting choices in her roles. This might be career best work and it’s a little unfortunate that it comes with a movie that not many people are going to see.

There is virtually no supporting cast and to describe the largest one would constitute as a spoiler. There is a man on a motorcycle that is heavily implied to be another alien either sent there to watch over or clean up after Laura. We never really see him or her do anything particularly violent. All of her victims walk across a shiny black floor as they follow after Laura until the floor slowly swallows them up. There is only one scene that shows what happens to the men that fall into that pit and it is, again, disturbing but not gory. It will, however, make you jump.

The lack of story makes the movie particularly hard to follow. You can tell that there is a message here but the message is about as there as the story. It’s a movie that people are going to debate over and I’ve seen a few theories that mirrored conclusions I drew myself. There hasn’t been anything that has made me say that this is the message writer Walter Campbell was going for or if the message from the original novel by Michael Faber carried over. The directing is lovely as Jonathan Glazer frames each shot about Johansson in such a way that we see her miss those subtle social cues that put her into the uncanny valley. The music by composer Mica Levi is also lovely in the sense that it sets your teeth on edge.

Under the Skin is a disturbing movie that shatters like glass underneath your skin (sorry) so it becomes impossible to pick all of the shards out. It will stay with you one way or another despite how much you might not want it to but is more than worth a look. 3/4 stars

Like me on facebook and follow me on twitter

[wedigfilmposters]

Under The Skin  (2014)

An alien seductress preys upon hitchhikers in Scotland.

Director:

 Jonathan Glazer

Writers:

 Walter Campbell (screenplay), Michel Faber(novel)

Stars:

 Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay 

Poster Designed by Kellerhouse, Inc

[thethirdpersona]

Under the Skin | Jonathan Glazer, 2013