The many shades of Scarlett

Alison Piercy
The Silhouette

Career-defining roles can sometimes make an actor a versatile star, but they can also condemn that person to playing the same character over and over again. Then again, the latter is not necessarily a bad thing.

In Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johansson takes on one such career-defining role. She portrays Charlotte, a young woman who has travelled with her husband to Japan on a business trip. As her husband is busy with his job and socializing with a female celebrity friend, Charlotte is left alone in their hotel room. The movie explores Charlotte’s feelings of estrangement from her husband and the feelings of isolation and confusion that come with being in a large city with a vastly different culture.

Johansson, who was 18 when Lost in Translation was filmed, showed a talent and maturity beyond her years and easily convinced the audience that she was older than she actually was. Prior to this, Johansson had only played minor roles as a teen star. Her appearance in Lost in Translation marks her transition into adulthood.

The character of Charlotte in Lost in Translation provided the stepping-stone needed for Johansson to become one of Hollywood’s most prolific female stars today. This is because many of the roles she has taken have similar characteristics to Charlotte – her beauty, her intelligence, and her believability.

One of the most iconic scenes in Lost in Translation is the opening shot of Johansson lying on a hotel bed with her back towards the camera, sporting a pair of pink see-through underwear. From then on Johansson has been considered a sex symbol in pop culture and many of her roles, intentionally or not, have painted her in such a way. Vicky Christina Barcelona and He’s Just Not That Into You are prime examples of Johansson’s sexuality being the central to her characters.

Despite the focus on Johansson’s appearance, many of the characters she has chosen to play also have wit and motivations beyond just being eye-candy. In her most recent box-office hit, The Avengers, Johansson portrays Black Widow, a reformed spy that uses her brain to outsmart several bad guys throughout the movie.

Finally, Johansson’s ability to act with conviction can potentially be traced back to Lost in Translation. In one striking scene, Charlotte, overwhelmed by culture shock and loneliness, calls a friend from back home. Slightly in tears, she attempts to talk her friend through her situation, only to have the other person hang up. Anyone who has needed to talk to someone and been unable to get through can instantly empathize with Charlotte, thanks to Johansson’s finely tuned performance.

For Johansson, typecasting seems to be more of a benefit than a burden. Many of her characters since Lost in Translation have carried on Charlotte’s intriguing combination of sex appeal, intelligence and authenticity. Audiences will have many chances to find out if this trend continues. Johansson is currently starring in Joseph Gordon Levitt’s Don Jon, and will return to cinema screens next year in Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin.