Sometime in the mid ’90’s, something happened to music videos. They got really, really cool. I’d go so far as to say mindblowing. Music videos became such and art form that 19 year old me changed her major from Music Ed to a double of Music and Film, because I wanted to make art like that. David Fincher opened up the genre in the early 90’s and paved the way for amazing work from Mark Romanek, Spike Jonz, Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham (yes, he gets two, and I cannot stress to you how disturbing and wildly NSFW they both are)… and Jonathan Glazer. All of these men have had music videos become a part of the permanent collection at MOMA, and most have gone on to either wildly or quietly successful film careers.
Jonathan Glazer falls into the latter category. His films have been critical successes, but generally don’t create the type of publicity as, say, your Joss Whedon releases (not that one is better than the other – apples and oranges). Ever hear of a little film called “Sexy Beast”? If not, go rent it right now. Especially if you like Nicolas Winding Refn or even Michael Haneke. His work is bleak and unsettling while keeping a sense of beauty. And the trailer for “Under the Skin,” while not necessarily informative, seems to show he has kept his signature look and feel in his third theatrical release.
The film is based on a book of the same name, summarized as:
A “fascinating psychological thriller” (The Baltimore Sun), this entrancing novel introduces Isserley, a female driver who picks up hitchhikers with big muscles. She, herself, is tiny-like a kid peering up over the steering wheel. Scarred and awkward, yet strangely erotic and threatening, she listens to her hitchhikers as they open up to her, revealing clues about who might miss them if they should disappear. At once humane and horrifying, Under the Skin takes us on a heart-thumping ride through dangerous territory-our own moral instincts and the boundaries of compassion. A grotesque and comical allegory, a surreal representation of contemporary society run amok, Under the Skin has been internationally received as the arrival of an exciting talent, rich and assured.
So, I’ll be reading that tout de suite. It’s taken me a long time to appreciate Scarlett Johansson. I always felt she was a bit wooden, but I’ve come to realize that her somewhat flat affect is always perfect for the characters she portrays. Needless to say I now love her, and it’s not just because of the badass luchador moves in Marvel flicks. I’m excited to see her all Fairuza Balk’d up, in a bizarre foreign sci-fi film.
Unsurprisingly this film is not getting a lot of U.S. publicity. It was recently picked up at the Toronto Film Festival, but a trailer with male full frontal, no real plot description and an almost all non-U.S. cast that implies the entire movie is about brutal female sexuality isn’t likely to air during “Two and a Half Men.” But I am completely intrigued. I really am going to track down the book as quickly as possible, and if the film airs within a 50 mile radius of me I’ll definitely be buying a ticket.
You’ll note I didn’t link to a video for Glazer above. That’s because the video I’d like to share requires a bit of pomp. While he might not match the other directors in numbers, one of his videos stands out above all the rest because of its brutality and lingering unease. It is SFW, but be warned – it’s a pretty tough watch.