The new poster and trailer for Jonathon Glazer’s Under the Skin, paint a picture of a movie that can only be described as intellectually tantalizing. The film follows Scarlett Johansson, who stars as an alien disguising herself as a human to seduce loners in Scotland. As we’ve previously mentioned, the film provoked quite a stir at the Telluride, Venice, and Toronto film festivals last year.
The visual elements of the trailer (below) combined with tense music from Mica Levi of Micachu & The Shapes add an air of mystery. With a combination of heart racing music and clips of Johansson wearing black lingerie, the A24 distributors have set a provocative tone.
The poster, designed by Neil Kellerhouse, matches the majestic edginess of the trailer. With a beautiful profile of Johansson fading in space, the poster merges humanity with alienation. As small amounts of light are shown flaring amongst a dark sky, audiences are invited to step into the perspective of an alien.
Director of Sexy Beast and Birth, Glazer is poised to deliver a thought provoking sci-fi film. For Johansson, her role as Laura in Under the Skin appears to be similar to some of her previous roles. In Her (although not an alien), she was similarly inhuman in her portrayal of a computer operating system. In The Island, she played a clone attempting to fit in as a human. In Lost in Translation, though she portrayed a human, alienation in a foreign country was a central theme. Johansson is clearly no stranger to playing roles connecting divergent lifestyles. However, the trailer and poster for Under the Skin portray Johansson as more villainous, preying on insiders rather than struggling as an outsider.
Although the trailer and poster do not reveal a vast number of plot details, they encourage audiences to take a ride with Johansson and experience the perspective of a seductress alien. Glazer’s new suspenseful Under the Skin will have a limited release on April 4th.
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