As this film opens a motorcyclist drives along a remote Scottish road and retrieves the body of a woman from a field and takes in to a white van. We then see her in a pure white space where a naked woman proceeds to undress her then put on her clothes. She then drives the van to Glasgow and starts asking men for directions, as she does so see asks if they are local and have friends or family
when one doesn't she offers him a lift. She then lures him back to a dilapidated house where, in what can best be described as a black space, they start to undress. He walks towards her but gradually sinks into an oily liquid without noticing. She continues this emotionless behaviour until she finds a disfigured man; for some reason he is spared. She then heads to the highlands where she abandons the van and meets a man on a bus. While they spend the night together the motorcyclist, who has 'dealt with' the man she spared, is driving north towards her location.
Having just watched this film for the first time I'm unsure just how to feel; I expect I'll need to watch it again to be sure. That may sound like a bad thing but I think in this case it is a sign of how intriguing I found it. The story was told in a very detached way we are not told why this woman is doing what she does or why nor are we told what her connection to the mysterious and somewhat sinister motorcyclist is. The dialogue is sparse and what there is doesn't really tell us much about the characters. The only real exception was when she picked up the disfigured man; this scene was tender and showed that the protagonist was developing emotions in stark contrast to an earlier scene where she left a baby on a remote beach after seeing its parents drown and clobbering a would be rescuer with a rock. Scarlett Johansson was great in the leading role making is believe that her character was simultaneously a dangerous predator but could also be as vulnerable as any ordinary woman. The rest of the cast, mostly non-actors, are also impressive in a way that adds to the feeling that they are real people. The cinematography adds to the strange feel of the film; it gives a sense of detachment as well as a sense of danger. There is a fair amount of nudity but it is all fairly matter of fact rather than overly leery or erotic. Overall I'd recommend this but admit it certainly won't be for everybody.
Having just watched this film for the first time I'm unsure just how to feel; I expect I'll need to watch it again to be sure. That may sound like a bad thing but I think in this case it is a sign of how intriguing I found it. The story was told in a very detached way we are not told why this woman is doing what she does or why nor are we told what her connection to the mysterious and somewhat sinister motorcyclist is. The dialogue is sparse and what there is doesn't really tell us much about the characters. The only real exception was when she picked up the disfigured man; this scene was tender and showed that the protagonist was developing emotions in stark contrast to an earlier scene where she left a baby on a remote beach after seeing its parents drown and clobbering a would be rescuer with a rock. Scarlett Johansson was great in the leading role making is believe that her character was simultaneously a dangerous predator but could also be as vulnerable as any ordinary woman. The rest of the cast, mostly non-actors, are also impressive in a way that adds to the feeling that they are real people. The cinematography adds to the strange feel of the film; it gives a sense of detachment as well as a sense of danger. There is a fair amount of nudity but it is all fairly matter of fact rather than overly leery or erotic. Overall I'd recommend this but admit it certainly won't be for everybody.