Anyone who has seen a movie within the past 20 years likely knows Scarlett Johansson. Johansson has been a movie star since she was a teenager and is part of critically acclaimed and well-regarded movies like Ghost World and Lost in Translation. In 2010, her career took a major turn when she joined the MCU in the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2. Becoming part of the MCU and a star in some of the biggest films, like The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, and her own solo movie, Black Widow catapulted her to a new level of superstardom, and she became one of the most in-demand performers in Hollywood.
In 2019, she achieved a rare feat by being nominated for two separate acting Academy Award nominations in two different movies, for Best Actress in Marriage Story and Best Supporting Actress for Jojo Rabbit. In her extensive filmography, Johansson has many great performances that have been underrated. Audiences turned out for films like The Prestige and Vicki Christina Barcelona, but there are more that flew under the radar, either underperforming at the box office or people not knowing she is in them. Here are ten underrated Scarlett Johansson movies that are worth checking out.
Updated November 30th, 2023: This article has been updated with even more underrated Scarlett Johansson films and where you can watch each one of them.
10 Chef (2014)
Chef
- Release Date
- May 8, 2014
- Director
- Jon Favreau
- Cast
- Jon Favreau, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Emjay Anthony, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Comedy
Chef marks the second of three collaborations Johansson has with director Jon Favreau, having previously worked on 2010's Iron Man 2 before lending her A-list voice acting talents as the snake Kaa in 2016's Jungle Book. Chef is very much a film about Favreau working through the difficult time he had with studio notes on Iron Man 2 and Cowboys & Aliens and returns him to his earlier roots of Swingers and Made.
What Makes It Underrated
Johansson's role in Chef is a smaller one, playing the role of the hostess and the lead character's kind of girlfriend, Molly, in the restaurant where they both work together. Although the character is only in the film's first act, Johansson still manages to leave an impression, as her character is a cheerleader for Favreau's Carl Casper, but doesn't want to keep having a relationship with her boss, making for a character who is better in her performance than what was probably on the page. Stream on Starz.
9 Lucy (2014)
Lucy
- Release Date
- July 25, 2014
- Director
- Luc Besson
- Cast
- Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Pilou Asbæk
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A young woman named Lucy (Johansson) is coerced into becoming a drug mule. When the drug she’s transporting gets into her system, everything changes. The drug gives her powers, including knowing how to kick everyone’s ass, as she’s looking for the men who have put her in this situation.
What Makes It Underrated
Johansson in action mode is always fun, but here she’s also able to do some dramatic acting as her character is in serious peril. This Luc Besson film proved that Johansson was a box office magnet even without playing Black Widow, while also making a unique movie that straddles the action and sci-fi genres. It also asks some metaphysical questions about what someone with incredible powers would be interested in, and how she would react to the world around her. Stream on Max.
8 Asteroid City (2023)
Asteroid City
- Release Date
- June 23, 2023
- Director
- Wes Anderson
- Cast
- Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Carell, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Romance, Comedy
Asteroid City is the latest Wes Anderson film, one with an ensemble cast of characters, in a small town in the middle of nowhere. One of those stories is about actress Midge Campbell (Johansson) and the flirty friendship that might become more with his window neighbor Augie Steinbeck (Jason Schwartzman), while their kids are also falling in love with each other.
What Makes It Underrated
Johansson had worked with Anderson before but only ever voicing animated characters, so this was the first time she was lending more than her voice to one of the director’s projects. Her character has been hurt in the past by men and is now alone with her daughter, and you can see that life history in every interaction between her and Augie, as she’s always a bit guarded and melancholic, showing a side of the actress acting that has only appeared in Marriage Story, and that she’s great at expressing. Stream on Peacock.
7 Hitchcock (2012)
Hitchcock
- Release Date
- November 22, 2012
- Director
- Sacha Gervasi
- Cast
- Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Biography, Documentary, Drama
Hitchcock is a biopic of director Alfred Hitchcock that explores the creation of the film Psycho. Johansson steps into the iconic role of actress Janet Leigh. While the majority of the movie is focused more on the relationship between Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife and producing partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren), the movie does dedicate a great deal of time to showing the making of Psycho including recreating key scenes.
What Makes It Underrated
Playing a real-life iconic actor is never easy, but Johansson perfectly captures the persona and cadence of one of cinema's most famous leading ladies, Janet Leigh. The MCU actress was a fan of Leigh before playing her, and it shows. She knows what made the Psycho actress great, including her affection for Hitchcock, which shines through in every interaction between Johansson and Anthony Hopkins. Rent on Apple TV+.
6 Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Hail, Caesar!
- Release Date
- February 5, 2016
- Director
- Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Cast
- Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, David Krumholtz, Tilda Swinton
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Comedy, Documentary, Mystery
Going from Hitchcock to another film about the glory days of Hollywood, Johansson plays DeeAnna Moran in The Coen Brothers' Hail, Caesar! Johansson's character is inspired by Esther Williams, particularly her aquatic musical numbers, which featured elaborate performances with synchronized swimming and diving.
What Makes It Underrated
Johansson's character is more evidence of Hollywood's hypocrisy in those days, as her character's on-screen star persona is very different from her more cynical real-life persona, a woman hiding a pregnancy with a high-profile director that the studio needs to cover up. Although it's a small role, the actress feels part of this point in time and is able to create a character who feels real with just a few strokes, even getting her happy ending with Jonah Hill's character. The actress hits every comedic beat and helps make Hail, Caesar! an underrated comedy. Stream on Hulu.
5 Match Point (2005)
Match Point
- Release Date
- October 26, 2005
- Director
- Woody Allen
- Cast
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Alexander Armstrong, Paul Kaye, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Crime, Documentary, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Match Point is the tale of Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) a retired tennis player who marries a wealthy woman, Chloe Hewett Wilton (Emily Mortimer), and enjoys all the spoils of an upper-class life. That’s until he meets Nola Rice (Johansson) and he has an affair with her that could destroy his newfound riches.
What Makes It Underrated
This might be Johansson’s best femme fatale performance, as she oozes sexuality in every frame she appears in. The character also has some great lines of dialogue and is the perfect temptation for Chris to fall for. This role helped the actress, as it showed Hollywood that she could be an integral part of an indie film, and steal every scene she was in. From there onward, she started to get some exciting lead roles. Stream on Paramount+.
4 The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
The Man Who Wasn't There
- Release Date
- October 26, 2001
- Director
- Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Cast
- Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, James Gandolfini, Katherine Borowitz, Jon Polito
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Crime, Documentary, Drama
The first time Johansson worked with the Coen Brothers was in 2001's neo-noir The Man Who Wasn't There. Johansson was only seventeen at the time of the film's release, and her character Rachel "Birdy" Abundas is the daughter of a friend of the film's lead character Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thorton).
What Makes It Underrated
Her function in the film is the source of hope for the lead character, a light in the darkness of the world. Even at 17, Johansson proved herself a formidable performer, able to hold her own in a Coen Brothers movie alongside an actor as well-established and regarded as Billy Bob Thorton. Johansson showed she was a born star and just getting started. Rent on Apple TV+.
3 Ghost World (2001)
Ghost World
- Release Date
- July 20, 2001
- Director
- Terry Zwigoff
- Cast
- Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas, Bob Balaban
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Comedy, Documentary, Drama
Adapted from a Daniel Clowes comic, Ghost World tells the story of two high school best friends, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson), and how their lives start to drift apart now that school is over, and both must decide how and with whom they want to live their real lives that have just begun.
What Makes It Underrated
The whole movie is a coming-of-age story dressed as a detached and sarcastic nihilist movie, and Birch is the star of it. Johansson works great as the yang to her yin, at least at first. The actress is able to show how, even if Rebecca loves Enid and spending time with her, she’s also just a normal girl wanting to do normal things, like getting a job, falling in love, and having an apartment. Those qualities make her boring to Enid, but Johansson shows that her character isn’t bitter about it and that sometimes, best friends just want different things about life, and that’s okay, showing both love and pragmatism all in one performance. Stream on Paramount+.
2 Rough Night (2017)
Rough Night
- Release Date
- June 15, 2017
- Director
- Lucia Aniello
- Cast
- Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Demi Moore, Colton Haynes, Jillian Bell, Zoe Kravitz
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Comedy, Documentary, Drama
Rough Night sees Johansson in a genre she doesn't get to play often, a straight-up comedy. Rough Night focuses on Johansson's character Jess Thayer, who is running for public office and goes on a bachelorette weekend with her friends in Florida. There, they accidentally kill a male stripper, and things begin to spiral out of control. Johansson is supported by an all-star cast that includes Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, Zoë Kravitz, and Kate McKinnon along with a scene-stealing performance from Paul W. Downs.
What Makes It Underrated
Johansson might play the straight woman to everything that happens around her, but she's still able to create a fun character around this unique situation and make it believable. Rough Night got a little lost upon release due to being overshadowed by Girls Trip that same summer as well as being marketed like The Hangover when it's actually more of a cross between Weekend at Bernie's and Arsenic & Old Lace. Rough Night is a laugh-out-loud comedy and a great showcase for Johansson outside of superheroes, high-concept science fiction, and awards dramas. Stream on Starz.
1 Under the Skin (2014)
Under the Skin
- Release Date
- March 14, 2014
- Director
- Jonathan Glazer
- Cast
- Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, Kevin McAlinden, D. Meade, Andrew Gorman
- Rating
- R
- Genres
- Sci-Fi, Documentary, Thriller
Filmmaker Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin was a box office disappointment but still received positive reviews from critics, which is why it's Johannson's most underrated movie. Johansson plays Laura, an alien who preys on men and explores humanity through a different perspective. It premiered in 2013 at the Telluride Film Festival and was released in theaters in 2014, making it the fourth film from the star released that year after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Chef, and Lucy, and worked to showcase just how versatile she is as a performer, being able to work in such a variety of genres.
What Makes It Underrated
Under the Skin serves as a great companion piece to Her. Both Her and Under the Skin see Johansson play inhuman beings observing humans and learning from them, but Her is a performance that is solely a vocal one and much more warm and human, while Under the Skin is a physical performance with minimal dialogue that is disturbingly colder. Lesser actors would not have been able to create such a distinction between two characters who, on paper, are so similar. This is a testament to how thoughtful her performances are, and how well she adapts to different requirements. Stream on Max.
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