A sexy woman drives around Scotland in a white van. She picks up unsuspecting men and leads them to their doom. She leads them on for sex until they find themselves walking naked into a liquid pool. There they are submerged, trapped like flys in amber.
Why? Well, we can gather that Johansson's character is not from this planet and that her race use the bodies of these men for some unspecified purpose. Perhaps to provide the skins needed to disguise themselves. She is wearing one herself after all, over her smooth, sleek, jet-black alien body. In one memorable scene (the only one seen from inside the mysterious liquid) one of the victims skins bursts like a balloon, his insides somehow completely removed. Or perhaps they use humans as food or both.
The predator seems completely unremorseful about her task. Like a robot. No empathy for her victims. Yet later I discovered that what I mistook for lack of empathy was in fact lack of understanding. She has no concept of human nature. How could she. She is carrying out a task that possibly makes very little sense to her in a world which probably makes very little sense to her. Eventually something twigs and she seems to begin to develop some empathy or realises that she doesn't want to do this anymore. So she tries to hide away from her minders.
Yet it's not her minders that she needs to be wary of. The final scene of the film is rather brutal and you actually feel sorry for her, even though she was a cold blooded killer. Yet it's actually a human who was much worse in the end.
The special effects are used sporadically in the film but when they do they are very effectively otherworldly and authentic. It is filmed beautifully. Some lovely rugged Scottish landscapes are used to good effect. There is a subtle horror to this film. And there are quite a few disquieting scenes. The music/sound is used stunningly throughout the film. It often reflects the mood of the scenes perfectly: dread and unease and sinisterness.
Its hard to say what the aliens ultimately want and there isn't much of a plot in the film. Some will find it quite dull and yes it is a little dull and slow at times. My friend who saw it with me found no merit to the film at all. 2 hours of his life wasted he said. I on the other hand felt like it was a worthwhile experience. Experience maybe being the operative word. It is very mysterious and disquieting. For that I would recommend it. Its makes me want to seek out the book to try to get some answers.
Perhaps this film is saying something profound about sex, loneliness or feminism, or all of them. It could probably be interpreted along those lines but whatever the message is I'm not sure I'm smart enough to get it.
Does Johansson blow us away? No, but what she does she does well. She also gets very naked so hats off to her for being so brave.
Why? Well, we can gather that Johansson's character is not from this planet and that her race use the bodies of these men for some unspecified purpose. Perhaps to provide the skins needed to disguise themselves. She is wearing one herself after all, over her smooth, sleek, jet-black alien body. In one memorable scene (the only one seen from inside the mysterious liquid) one of the victims skins bursts like a balloon, his insides somehow completely removed. Or perhaps they use humans as food or both.
The predator seems completely unremorseful about her task. Like a robot. No empathy for her victims. Yet later I discovered that what I mistook for lack of empathy was in fact lack of understanding. She has no concept of human nature. How could she. She is carrying out a task that possibly makes very little sense to her in a world which probably makes very little sense to her. Eventually something twigs and she seems to begin to develop some empathy or realises that she doesn't want to do this anymore. So she tries to hide away from her minders.
Yet it's not her minders that she needs to be wary of. The final scene of the film is rather brutal and you actually feel sorry for her, even though she was a cold blooded killer. Yet it's actually a human who was much worse in the end.
The special effects are used sporadically in the film but when they do they are very effectively otherworldly and authentic. It is filmed beautifully. Some lovely rugged Scottish landscapes are used to good effect. There is a subtle horror to this film. And there are quite a few disquieting scenes. The music/sound is used stunningly throughout the film. It often reflects the mood of the scenes perfectly: dread and unease and sinisterness.
Its hard to say what the aliens ultimately want and there isn't much of a plot in the film. Some will find it quite dull and yes it is a little dull and slow at times. My friend who saw it with me found no merit to the film at all. 2 hours of his life wasted he said. I on the other hand felt like it was a worthwhile experience. Experience maybe being the operative word. It is very mysterious and disquieting. For that I would recommend it. Its makes me want to seek out the book to try to get some answers.
Perhaps this film is saying something profound about sex, loneliness or feminism, or all of them. It could probably be interpreted along those lines but whatever the message is I'm not sure I'm smart enough to get it.
Does Johansson blow us away? No, but what she does she does well. She also gets very naked so hats off to her for being so brave.