pointless and heartless ...Under the Skin

It is not often that I miss the point of a movie and entertain myself with watching others to see who will walk out first. It seems that people were agitated and there were quite a few toilet visits and returns... perhaps they like me had skimmed the positive reviews and wanted to see the good bits. But it was such a relief for this movie to finally be over, and I guess I just accepted it was a wasted evening! So where did it all go wrong? Scarlett Johansson plays a not-very-alien predator at large in a battered white van in Glasgow. While this adaptation of Michael Faber's novel has intrinsic benefit, it was not easy to access and I was perplexed by her seductive and manipulative voyeurism, which seemed both pointless and heartless. OK it was interesting to see 'normal' street scenes but it adds little to the story. Perhaps there was some point scoring by the ever so educated and critically cool English writers at a kerb-crawling Hollywood star luring ordinary Scottish lads using hidden cameras! So we are supposed to recognise an emotional vulnerability emerging that results in her ultimate downfall, but I did not feel a thing - maybe I was looking away...