Let's try to finish once and for all with the "Pretty Face" label when talking about Scarlett Johansson. Firstly, just because it is a macho and antiquated attitude much closer to the stale and disgusting than anything else, and second, because we speak of an actress with a talent more than demonstrated throughout a career marked by a great smell For the selection of projects. An actor that we have seen grow on the big screen and that was confirmed a long time ago as a talent capable of playing any genre.
1 'Lost in Translation'
An actor caught in shabby advertising trying to make a living. A woman who kills free time lying in bed and looking at the street from the window. They might not have met in their entire lives, having continued to walk on paths as distinct as they are inconsequential. But Tokyo's neon lights weigh too much, and loneliness ends up uniting the lost.
That's why everything that happens in 'Lost in Translation' has a meaning that goes far beyond the captivating visual beauty that Sofia Coppola gets in each of her scenes. And the main culprits are Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, accurate at a level solely related to excellence. Focusing our attention on her, what we find is an actress full of tenderness and melancholy, a presence that shines in the midst of a thousand people who meet in the corners of an eternal city. Probably the best job of her career.
2 'Under the Skin'
I do not know if Michel Faber's novel, from which 'Under the Skin' is adapted, is as ambitious, strange, complex and, sadly, tedious as his film version, but I am pretty sure that few actresses would give so much the stature in the role of his Protagonist as Scarlett Johansson. The actress, after unleashing box offices around the world with 'The Avengers', made a decision full of risk and courage playing a character who makes contention and silence her flag, which was a challenge in her career and that was far removed from the more commercial interests of the industry.
For some, the film is one of the most fascinating gems in recent science fiction. For others, a yawn. Of course, we all agree on the umpteenth show of talent of an outstanding Johansson who gave herself body and soul to a proposal of suicidal nature.
3 'The Avengers'
As much as we love the two installments of 'The Avengers', plus the first that their irregular sequel, it is clear that both make a mistake reduce Black Widow's importance in the team. Mainly, because Scarlett Johansson does not joke at any moment with her character, granting her a bulletproof personality.
In her hands, what could have ended up being a hero of walking home lost in a universe of superheroes full of incredible powers, ends up becoming a flat version of Nikita, yes, with a more conflictive past. In short, Marvel, less romantic subplots for the Widow and more individual films for her.
4 'Don Jon'
The surprising debut feature of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 'Don Jon' was filled with pleasant surprises, but if there was one that stood out above all else was, without a doubt, the performance of Scarlett Johansson. Her character, a goddess straight out of the imagination of a teenager in full sexual effervescence, had a thousand and one possibilities to fall into the parody or the most boring stereotype, but the actress always handles the tone and pace necessary to turn it into something plus.
When it is not on the screen, you miss it. When you leave the scene, you miss it. When the movie seems to collapse, you miss it. When it all ends, you miss it. And there we go. A wonderful performance.
5 'Match Point'
Temptation and victim. Fire and perdition. Passion and tragedy. Luck and misfortune. 'Match Point' would be less of a masterpiece without Scarlett Johansson. And it is not because her character plays the key role of the whole plot, but her performance is so hypnotic, so memorable, that one can only surrender to the evidence. And with all the happiness of the world.
Woody Allen gave his round script in many years and Johansson knew to take the opportunity unfolding all its arsenal of charm, charisma and fragility. A lethal combination that captivated its director and the spectators who kept forever in his memory the sad look of a character who seemed indestructible.
6 'Her'
'Her' remains, for many viewers, including myself, one of the most memorable masterpiece of the last decade. A proposal of multiple readings in which one can stay with the vision of a future that we glimpse with little difficulty, with the portrait of the most certain solitude, with the lack of communication of a society that walks looking at the ground and that is only able to raise The look when your mobile device tells you, or with the optimistic message that when things go wrong, there will always be physical contact, even if it is a shoulder to cry on. All those ideas, all those situations, all those reflections are those proposed by the most inspired Spike Jonze, giving away a number of unforgettable scenes, instants of cinema in pure state.
And, above all, Samantha. That voice. The key to everything exploding in a thousand pieces, that everything has a meaning, that everything rises. What Scarlett Johansson does is a gift. Because what he gets here, without appearing in any of the seconds that make up the film and with the exclusive help of her vocal cords, is one of the most powerful film achievements of recent years.
7 'Girl with a Pear Earring'
Peter Webber's first film, which sadly immediately fell into the utmost irrelevance, apparently based all its potential on the formal finish, influenced directly by painting, the artistic modality that surrounded its history and main context. However, in the midst of the indisputable visual beauty, appeared Scarlett Johansson, in its most unrecognizable version, to, from a ghostly appearance, take away the whole function.
There is no scene where it does not seem to be close to breaking as the most fragile of crystals. Absolute delicacy in an interpretation that, after 'Lost in Translation', confirmed the evidence of being before an actress more than interesting.
8 'Lucy'
For a director like Luc Besson, a specialist in creating memorable action heroines, with 'Leon: The Professional' and 'Nikita' at the head, having Scarlett Johansson to star in 'Lucy' is little more than a gift to be eternally grateful.
Because it does not matter that the film loses its head completely in its last stretch, ridiculous and pedantic, failed and delirious, there it is to save the furniture to blow of charisma and personality. At the same time that it appears on the screen, everything works. Besson, you owe Scarlett a lot.
9 'Scoop'
After the wonderful result of their first joint work, 'Match Point', Woody Allen had it more than clear: Scarlett Johansson would star in his next film. Said and done. Changing completely the tone, from Greek tragedy to summer entertainment, from opera to the most luminous jazz, in short, from the dramatic thriller to the mystery entangled in laughter, the New York genius offered the actress the opportunity to unleash his comic visage with 'Scoop'. And she took advantage of it.
Within the set, as light and funny, Johansson became the greatest virtue of the film, sweeping in its charm and awkwardness, combining her sensuality with her talent to take advantage of every little moment of lucidity.
10 'Ghost World'
Although her character plays a distinctly secondary role, Scarlett Johansson manages to draw gold from each of her appearances throughout the jewel called 'Ghost World', one of those rare independent films in which everything flows beautifully and nothing seems to be forced.
An ingenious and balanced work in which, along with the wonderful friendship / platonic love established between Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi, highlights the chemistry between Johansson and the protagonist, and is able to convince us that they have always been best friends.