Sorry, not that type of confession. By which I mean, not the sort of confession elicited by long, unbroken shots of her underwear-clad derriere in Lost in Translation, or the endless publicity photos of her bosoms straining heavenward on the red carpet before the Golden Globes. No, I speak of something much more mundane: my questioning of her alleged talent as an actress.
I first became aware of Johansson, like most people, when she appeared opposite Thora Birch in Ghost World (no, I didn't see The Horse Whisperer or Home Alone 3, and - like you - even if I did I wouldn't admit it). GW was Enid's movie, but Johansson got some attention for her work, even if most of what she did was offer her counterpoint in awkward adolescent fashion. Which was kind of the point. Whatever the case, she was on the map.
Her star didn't rise too much in her next film, Eight Legged Freaks. it wasn't that she did a bad job, exactly, but when you're billed below the likes of David Arquette and Kari Wuhrer, I imagine you just grit your teeth, brandish your tennis racket at some giant spiders, and make the best of it.
Lost in Translation, which found her playing alongside Bill Murray, was her real breakthrough. But at the time we saw this, The Wife and I thought we must have been the only people on the planet who found it extremely overrated. Yes, Charlotte and Bob are alienated and lonely, but too much of the dialogue sounds like stuff Sofia Coppola cribbed from conversations she overheard in a bar, and I'm sorry, but presenting your ass like a ham in a windowsill and flirting with Bill Murray does not a great performance make.
It sure is funny how those Japanese mispronounce shit though, isn't it?
Didn't see Girl with a Pearl Earring, and thought she was severely outclassed (if you can believe it) by Dennis Quaid in In Good Company
Which brings us to Match Point (I could talk about The Island, but why bother?). Woody Allen's latest is getting some rave reviews, probably due to the fact that it isn't really a "Woody Allen movie." It's a competent enough thriller; adroitly filmed and just plausible enough to get your attention. Johansson, however, is almost painful to watch. From her stiff line readings to her obvious boredom during the scenes of supposedly smoldering passion, nothing she does convinces me she can actually act. I was, frankly, shocked when she was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress, with the same Oscar a possibility as well.
I won't deny that she is unconventionally good looking, and has a great voice/body, but you will never convince me she's that good an actress.
And the bellwether for that, as we all know, is pretending to enjoy sex with Billy Bob Thornton (link goes to one of the most disturbing celebrity web sites I've seen).
I just finished watching The Island (I know) and am now officially off the Scarlett Johannson bandwagon. I had been taking the attitude of, "Well maybe I'm just missing something" but now it's obvious the majority of people who think she's so good are on crack.
She was so awful in Girl W/ Pearl Earring it wasn't to be believed. She just stood there breathing through her mouth the entire time and I really just wanted to smack her.
Thank goodness somebody said it! I couldn't agree more. She's gorgeous, but she only has one expression. Boooooriiiiiing.
Thank you for letting me know I'm not the only one who thought Lost in Translation was horribly overrated. My husband and I could barely stay awake through it. Johansson herself has never entered my consciousness enough to warrant forming an opinion.
Just to be contrary, I loved Lost in Translation when it came out, and still think it stands up as a solid, well-made film. I also think Scarlett Johannson is a legitimate hottie. Can she act? She may not be Meryl Streep, but she's no Julia Roberts either.
She's a beautiful young woman, emphasis on young. Afterall, she's in her early twenties and still developing as an actor. I liked her vulnerability in Lost in Translation and she was a good foil for Thora Birch's character in Ghost World. I agree she isn't great and definitely has some stretching to do as an actor but I have to say there are plenty of older female actors whose work is less creditable. Besides, I think Scarlett has an Old Hollywood look and appeal about her. In fact, she reminds me of a young Lauren Bacall.
I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to watch _Lost in Translation_. While I will not claim it was a great film, I think maybe it required the audience to have had experience with long term travel for business. Without that background, what sense could the film make, really? The cinematography represented visually how I feel about my life as a Road Warrior. Were I not someone who travelled nearly every week, I do not think I could have watched the movie, as it seemed more full of style and mood than, say, plot or character development.
The experience of watching that movie rather reminded me of my experience reading _Heart of Darkness_. I had to be in a country where I couldn't speak the language on a drowsy afternoon before that book "spoke" to me.
I will have to agree with NicoleAllee. LiT struck a chord with me, because I had recently spent about 5 weeks in the less than attractive Tangiers (and I am being kind here folks). I can remember many a day sitting on my hotel balcony at 9 in the morning watching the city below, drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes and waiting for the seas to calm so that we could get back to work. I at least had the common sense to buy some good whiskey and gin in the duty-free shop. I felt that the film captured the loneliness of traveling abroad without a good grasp of the culture and language, feeling isolated from everything around you, and becoming increasingly weary about being gone from loved ones back home.
Believe me, you're not the only one to think that Lost in Translation was overrated. About the only good thing I can say about it is that it is a slightly less pretentious movie than Broken Flowers.
As a much younger girl, she was in "Manny and Lo", which is an excellent movie, and I think that's where all the buzz about her really began...she was an outstanding actress for such a young girl, and many thought she had much potential. But I don't think her acting now that she's older is much better...
I'm pretty sure that Roeper guy said the same thing about her performance in Match Point.
Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid made "In Good Company", she really didn't add much, except something to look at.
"The Island" wasn't all that bad.