A review by andyc_elsby232
Alien in the Mirror: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Glazer and Under the Skin by Maureen Foster

5.0

Amazingly in-depth. I can't imagine Foster's exhaustion and elation upon finishing it. The seemingly endless number of connections she is able to draw between Glazer's film and just about every movie that has something even slightly in common with it, all while never losing her flow or altering her voice, is astounding. "Under the Skin" is my favorite movie of the last 25 years. This is more than a book-length tribute, it is the step-by-step, seed-by-seed story of how the film was conceived, a decades-long process that itself, when told by Foster, is almost as dreamlike and passionate as the tone of the frightening yet achingly beautiful film. Foster is not an elitist, and there isn't a single line where she feels the need to crunch a lesser film to make "Under the Skin" look taller. Foster considers every act of filmmaking to be a contribution to humanity's effort to express itself through art. Reading this made me love and respect movies even more than I already do.