Claim: Scarlett Johansson is an actress.

Under the Skin is a 2013 science fiction film directed and co-written by Jonathan Glazer loosely based on Michel Faber 's 2000 novel of the same name . The film stars Scarlett Johansson as an otherworldly woman who preys on men in Scotland .   Glazer and cowriter Walter Campbell developed Under the Skin for a decade , settling on a film that takes an alien perspective of the human world . Most of the characters were played by non-actors , including road racer Jeremy McWilliams ; many scenes were unscripted conversations filmed with hidden cameras on the street . It competed for the Golden Lion at the 70th Venice International Film Festival in 2013 , and was released in the United States on April 4 , 2014 .   Though Under the Skin was a box office failure , it received positive reviews , particularly for Johansson 's performance , Glazer 's direction , and Mica Levi 's score . It received multiple awards and was named one of 2014 's best films by several publications .