The best Scarlett Johansson performance might be the one you don’t see

Scarlett Johansson is an actress who has done all kinds of films in different genres. In her long career, she has been a part of several critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. While the viewers mostly know her as Black Widow in the MCU or Lost in Translation, there is one performance of hers where we don't even get to see her. But it's still her best work.

The film is Spike Jonze's 2013 science fiction rom-com drama Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. Here's the official synopsis:

In the near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.

Scarlett Johansson is not even on screen in Her

Scarlett Johansson has given her voice to Samantha, which is an AI operating system in Her. The storyline mainly revolves around Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix), who slowly develops a relationship with Samantha. Written and directed by Spike Jonze, the film is a tender look into a near-future world where people are relying on technology to cope with loneliness.

Johansson proves with this film that she can captivate the audience with just her voice, which seems to be tailor-made for an AI device. The character also has a proper arc and is nicely written. The makers don't reduce her to a mere plot device or a machine who is in the background.

We never see her in the film's entirety, but that won't deter you from being mesmerized by her performance. The writing and the performances of all the actors, especially Phoenix, complement her voice work. Samantha provides comfort and warmth to Theodore when he goes through a breakup. He is a lonely person who is also an introvert, hence, he is unable to make real-world connections. Samantha helps him in this situation, and he soon starts fully depending on her.

Given the evolution of AI chatbots since the film came out, it feels more like a dystopian drama than a sci-fi flick. The tenderness of Johansson's voice acting as Samantha makes us forget that over-reliance on technology can be detrimental to us humans.

Scarlett Johansson on how she lent her voice in Her

A still from Her (Image via Warner Bros. YouTube)

In an interview with IndieWire, Scarlett Johansson spoke about the process of lending her voice to Samantha. She revealed that the film was already shot when she came on board.

“I didn’t know whether what I brought to it would work for [Spike Jonze] because he’d already shot the film and had to fit whatever it was that we did into what he’d already shot. I saw a couple of his takes with Joaquin [Phoenix], and did a little bit of work there. But what I thought was going to be four days of recording turned into a really involved process. At times, I would even record with Joaquin, who really made himself available in an amazing way.”

She added,

“[Joaquin] was in the room. So we did several sessions with him. Then sometimes I would do sessions with Spike where I would act opposite him, or I would act opposite the playback just to see how that was. But it was a very different experience from being on set.”

What are your thoughts on Scarlett Johansson's voice acting in Her?