Scarlett Johansson: The lady who is more than a ‘Black widow’
After spending years in the industry, Scarlett netted two Oscar nominations for her brilliant performance in ‘Jojo Rabbit’ and ‘Marriage Story’.
In the wild world of Avengers, Black widow aka Natasha Romanoff has established her name as one of the most empowered superheroes.
The credit goes to Scarlett Johansson who remarkably played the role of the Russian Spy turned superhero.
The existing patriarchy in the Marvel cinematic universe could not push her away and she stood out with her acting skills.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Many may know her only as a commercially successful actress. Some may also know her because of her savage answers to the media who often threw sexist questions at her.
However, Scarlett is a gem of an actor and all the gossips and glitz aside, she has done quite a number of movies that prove her worth.
After spending years in the industry, Scarlett netted two Oscar nominations for her brilliant performance in two wonderful cinemas called 'Jojo Rabbit' and 'Marriage Story'.
Today, she turns 37 and we picked the top five underrated movies where she performed brilliantly.
-
Lost in Translation (2003)
Scarlett's performance as Charlotte in Sofia Coppola's 'Lost in Translation' is undoubtedly one of her best performances.
Bill Murray as the lead actor also makes the movie more interesting.
The premise presents two strangers in the beguiling city of Tokyo, finding the comfort they want from life in each other.
One of them is mentally exhausted with the so-called 'great life' he created and the other is neglected by her lover in a strange city.
But they eventually develop a beautiful friendship between them.
With impeccable screenplay mingled with unreal cinematography of Tokyo's city life, this cult classic can easily make it to someone's top five favourites.
-
Her (2013)
This movie can be called a sci-fi romantic movie as we see the lead actor Joaquin Phoenix falling in love with an AI system whose name is Samantha. And guess what? Scarlett lent her voice for this OS assistant's role.
It initially looks weird to see a grown-up man falling for his device's personal assistant.
But slowly we realise the pain of a divorced man desperate to fill the void in his heart.
Eventually, the evolving OS makes us more empathetic towards Joaquin's character while Scarlett, just existing with her voice, simply amazes us.
Every dialogue delivered by her made this uniquely executed film more engaging.
-
Ghost World (2001)
This classic by Terry Zwigoff is a wonderful comedic ride to jump in. It is based on an underground comic written by Daniel Clowes that exhibited a fresh high school drama balanced with necessary quirky bits.
In this movie, two best friends with different personalities go through a peculiar adventure.
It was just the start of Scarlett's career and as a noob, she was above average as she played the character of Rebecca.
Rebecca was that friend who had the most basic personality. She was self-aware, smart, and sarcastic.
Nonetheless, Scarlett's acting made this role anything but basic.
-
Marriage Story (2019)
Noah Baumbach's 'Marriage Story' is an emotional yet realistic portrayal of a collapsing marriage in which Scarlett delivered a sublime performance.
She acted as the dedicated mother and a loyal wife to a successful actor who eventually discovers she deserved more from life.
The movie was balanced with drama, romance, critical issues, and sometimes comedy.
Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple delivered an honest but heartbreaking portrayal of two people unhappy in a marriage.
Scarlett's powerful acting in this movie absolutely justifies her Oscar nomination.
-
Match Point (2005)
Everybody loves a unique psychological thriller with a surprising ending. And 'Match Point' by Woody Allen is just that movie with a British setting.
As Nola Rice, an American woman having an affair with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in London, Scarlett emits fierceness in Woody Allen's adult drama.
Despite the fact that her character meets a tragic end halfway through the film, she steals the show as the 'other woman' and a rightfully enraged person, who is far from insane.
