How Did Scarlett Johansson Feel About The Reaction To Under The Skin At Venice Film Festival? (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Scarlett Johansson almost lost it after Under the Skin got booed off the screen at the 2013 Venice Film Festival. Yep, you read that right—booed. The sci-fi indie didn’t exactly get a warm welcome, leaving Johansson teetering on the edge of tears. Festival director Alberto Barbera called it a disaster but told her, “Don’t worry, in time the film will be recognized.” Spoiler: he nailed it. Today, it’s a cult favorite.
At the time, Johansson felt “super-exposed.” She told The Guardian in 2014 that the mixed reaction left her stunned. “When the lights came up…there was this sound of people cheering and booing at the same time, but with equal gusto,” she recalled. “I didn’t know how to react. Jonathan [Glazer, the director] was thrilled. He thought it was the best reaction ever. I thought it was so strange.”
Under the Skin was no middle-ground movie. Johansson embraced its polarizing nature, saying she’d “way rather fail in someone’s eyes than be tepid.” She even compared it to her initial reaction to Eyes Wide Shut: “I hated it so much I had to see it again. And then I loved it.” That visceral response, she said, meant there was passion behind the story, even when it wasn’t love at first sight.
Despite its shaky start, the film earned critical acclaim, though not much love at the box office. Jonathan Glazer, adapting Michael Faber’s 2001 novel, spent nearly a decade crafting the eerie, alien tale. Like most actors, he described Johansson as both deeply confident and deeply insecure but praised her self-awareness. “She didn’t go into this without understanding why she’s doing it,” Glazer said.
The Venice premiere wasn’t the only unsettling moment. Glazer admitted it felt “alarming” to screen Under the Skin to audiences at Venice and Telluride. “It’s unnatural,” he said. “You can’t confuse something good with something well-received. They’re not the same.”
Looking back, the premiere didn’t define the film—it proved its boldness. Under the Skin may have rattled the crowd in Venice, but today, it’s a testament to taking risks for Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Glazer. Sometimes, being booed is just the start of something extraordinary.
