‘Under the Skin’: How Jonathan Glazer nearly broke the law when shooting the film
Jonathan Glazer’s 2013 film Under the Skin remains one of the most haunting movies released in the 21st century. Loosely based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Michael Faber, the feature is an eerie, minimal and thought-provoking watching experience. It tells the story of an extraterrestrial being who disguises as a woman and preys on men in Scotland before murdering them and sending them to an unnerving other realm. With star Scarlett Johansson utterly bewitching in the role of the woman and Glazer’s direction elevating the deeply pertinent themes of the novel, which range from sexual violence to compassion, there are many reasons why the film is so revered.
Filmmaker Nia DaCosta lucidly described Under the Skin to Ion Cinema in 2019, stating: “It’s unlike anything I’d seen before and could remain opaque without being rudderless. Incredibly moving and disturbing. Inspiring because it makes me feel as though, in film, one could do anything.”
Whilst different aspects of the movie will likely be discussed by cinema aficionados for years to come, there is one main talking point; the way it is shot. Brought together with a documentarian style, the audience fully immersed in the different environments on show; from the bustling city of Glasgow to the muted countryside, the film is bursting with innovative filmmaking.
Regarding the moments in the city, what augmented the viewing experience was that many of the women’s interactions were with non-actors who had no idea they were being filmed. Although this appears to be a breach of the consent law, Glazer devised a genius way of averting legal disaster for the production of the picture. Later, he also explained that this tact was essential to the film to create a sense of invasion. Additionally, this shooting style makes the audience feel like they’re complicit in the woman’s crimes – which compounds the sense of unease the film evokes. “It feels like she shouldn’t be there and we shouldn’t be there,” Glazer explained on the Nothing Concrete podcast, “I think that all plays into the atmosphere.”
To achieve total anonymity, the film crew got innovative and constructed a camera the size of a matchbox. Then, they assembled ten of these and installed them in locations across Glasgow where the filming took place. These included outdoor furniture, above shopfronts, and behind shop windows. Additionally, eight cameras were installed in the van that the woman drives. Glazer and sound and camera crew members sat in the back while another fan followed closely behind.
Cleverly, after an interaction was filmed, production assistants emerged from the second van to get consent forms from the people that had been filmed. Per Glazer’s account, almost everyone agreed to the footage, apart from a couple caught breaking up on camera. Glazer and the team captured 16 hours of footage each day, ultimately leading to two years of painstaking editing. However, it was all worth it, with the film’s style praised across the board.
