Scarlett Johansson stars in Under the Skin, Lost in Translation and Match Point.
Scarlett Johansson stars in Under the Skin, Lost in Translation and Match Point.
Scarlett Johansson is in Wellington filming Ghost in the Shell, so what better time to take a looked at her checkered film history? Here are her five best films, and - shh! - one of her worst.
Lost in Translation (2003)
Sofia Coppola's sleepy sleeper hit required Johansson to do little more than play a bored college kid called Charlotte lazing around a Japanese hotel. In her spare time, she befriends Bill Murray's jaded actor Bob, who is on "a break from my marriage". But Johannson plays bored so well, she earned a Best Actor Bafta and a Golden Globe nomination. "You're probably just having a midlife crisis," she tells Bob in one crucial scene. "Have you bought a Porshe yet?"
One of Johansson's most acclaimed films is this arty piece about Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Based on a book of the same name, she plays Griet, a 17th century maid, and the 17-year-old was selected for the mostly wordless role after auditions by more than 150 actresses. Acclaimed upon release, Girl With a Pearl Earring was nominated for 10 Baftas, three Academy Awards and two Golden Globes.
Match Point (2005)
Johansson has made several movies with Woody Allen, but this, the first, is probably the best. She plays American seductress Nola Rice, who begins an affair with a well-off former tennis star Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Oh the drama! Oh the scandal! Oh the tennis outfits!
Her (2013)
You never actually see Johannson in Spike Jonz' future-fear sci-fi film. She was a last-minute replacement for Jodie Foster for the part of 'sexy robot phone voice' - a role that required her to form a relationship, over the phone, with Joaquin Phoenix' professional letter writer Theodore Twombly. Her silky smooth skills at this won her a Best Supporting Actress nod at the Saturn Awards. And the film's heart-wrenching ending still resonates several years on.
Under the Skin (2013)
If you've ever wanted to see ScarJo play the role of 'man-eating alien,' this is the one for you. A film festival favourite, Under the Skin sees the actress using her looks to prey on Scottish men. Much of it was filmed with hidden cameras. "If my legs hadn't been so wobbly and my mouth so dry, I would have climbed up on my seat and cheered," wrote The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin.
(And her worst)
Tough decision. Should it go to the woeful 1997 sequel Home Alone 3, in which Johansson had a bit part? Should it go to Eight Legged Freaks, the often-mocked 2002 horror comedy? Maybe, but our choice is Lucy, Luc Besson's 2014 sci-fi film that we had such high hopes for, until we found out that the film's entire premise rests on a USB stick. Sort of. We think. You need to see it to understand it. Or maybe you don't. Yep, just don't.
