Under the Skin (2013)

UNDER THE SKIN  (2013)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Jonathan Glazer
    Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, 
    Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, 
    Kevin McAlinden, Andrew Gorman, D. Meade
Some trips you go along for the ride more than the destination. Some movies, too. Take this one. Scarlett Johansson, barely recognizable with a blank face and a black wig, plays an alien from somewhere, driving around Scotland in a van and picking up solitary men, who end up in some weird state of suspended animation. You start out not knowing what the hell's going on, and ten minutes in, you're pretty sure you're not going to find out. But you never know where Glazer's going to go with it, either, or what he's going to put on the screen next. That's one reason you're along for the ride. Another is that you keep wondering at what point Scarlett Johansson will take off all her clothes. She does that eventually, but the movie leads up to it gradually, like a slow, episodic striptease, revealing a little at a time. The rest is pretty cryptic, but keep your mind open, while your eyes are on Scarlett, and the ride could be worth it. Try it and see.