This quirky comic film ushered in a new era in Scarlett Johansson’s career

Scarlett Johansson is undoubtedly one of the most successful movie stars of her generation and one of the few leading actresses who can generate interest in an upcoming project just by her name. Johansson has certainly done her due diligence with her blockbuster films, as her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe have resulted in one of the best female superheroes of all time. However, Johansson has also been celebrated for her more serious work, receiving Oscar nominations for her powerful performances in Jojo Rabbit And Marriage storyOne of the most impressive aspects of Johansson’s career is that She was able to escape the “curse of the child actor” that followed many young stars after their breakthrough in their roles.

After their great success, child actors often have difficulty being taken seriously as “adult stars” because audiences find it difficult to accept them in mature roles. Macaulay Culkin And Haley Joel Osment may have dominated the box office in her youth, but her truly memorable roles in the years that followed were few and far between. Johansson certainly had many groundbreaking roles in her youth, including appearances in Rob Reiners family comedy North, the tragic Robert Redford Movie The horse Whisperer, and the underrated gem of the Coen brothers The man who wasn’t there. However, Johansson’s performance in underrated coming-of-age dramedy Spirit world is the beginning of a new era in her career, and proved how versatile she really was as an artist.

Spirit world

Two eccentric best friends graduate from high school and, as a joke, respond to a newspaper ad from a man seeking romance, only to find their lives getting more and more complicated.

Release date

July 20, 2001

director

Terry Zwigoff

Duration

111

Main genre

comedy

Authors

Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff

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What is “Ghost World” about?

Based on the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes, Spirit world is the story of two teenagers struggling to accept the realities of growing up after high school. Rebecca (Johansson) and Enid (Thora Birch) have been friends since childhood and feel like they’re the only ones who really understand each other. While many of the girls in their class are attracted to superficial achievements, both Rebecca and Enid share a deep cynicism about what high school really has to offer. After graduation, the two friends are excited about the possibility of living together and finally being independent. Adulthood, however, begins to drive a wedge between them, forcing Rebecca to think about what life without Enid would actually be like.

Johansson and Birch show in a great way the Apathy and ignorance of adolescence in a really sweet way. It’s obvious that the two characters are more aware of their surroundings than many of the other teenagers in their class, understanding that the public education system isn’t advanced enough to allow them to pursue their true interests. Unfortunately, both Rebecca and Enid use their intelligence as a way to justify their cynicism, a trait that makes living together much more difficult once they’re on their own. Johansson does a great job of showing Rebecca coping with this reality in a very relatable way; while there are elements of her experience that are specific, there is a universality in the feelings of dissatisfaction and growing up.

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“Ghost World” established Scarlett Johansson as a comedy star

Aside from her action roles in the Marvel Universe, Johansson’s recent projects have mostly been comedies, including the new “Space Race” story Fly me to the moon. The ability to make humorous jokes does not develop overnight, but Johansson first showed her skills as a comedic force of nature in spirit world. Her comedic side was crucial to the film hitting the right tone. At its core Spirit world is a rather dark film about the need to leave the joys of childhood behind. While this could easily have been an emotionally overwhelming message, Johansson is perfect at delivering sharp one-liners that help the film avoid becoming too cheesy. That’s not to say she didn’t help push the film in a more emotional direction when it needed to be; the final scenes between Rebecca and Enid are almost tear-jerking due to the excellent chemistry between the two stars.

Johansson showed a more subtle side of humor in Spirit world this fits perfectly with the astute qualities of the source material. Rebecca essentially sees herself as an outside observer and is happy to make callous comments about anyone she perceives as “normal”. However, this leads to an adjustment period where she is actually forced to take on adult responsibilities, such as paying her rent and working a blue-collar job. Although she is often critical of the tools of capitalism that she feels “degraded” by, Rebecca must accept that “uncomfortable” things are simply an aspect of life that she must deal with.

“Ghost World” ushered in a new era in Scarlett Johansson’s career

Spirit world was almost immediately recognized as a cult hit and received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Spirit world were the roles that truly made Johansson known as one of the best actresses of her generation. Only two years later, she appeared in Lost in translation received unanimous praise and proved that she was able to share the screen with an industry icon like ^ “Bill Murray”. How Spirit world, Lost in translation was a very humanistic dramedy that was almost painful to watch because of its accurate portrayal of the human condition.

Johansson has had one of the most interesting careers of any contemporary actress. While she still takes on blockbuster roles, like in the upcoming Jurassic World Continuation, Johansson has taken the time to collaborate with renowned artists such as Noah Baumbach, Woody Allen, Jonathan Glazer, Wes Anderson, And Joel and Ethan Coen. Spirit world has established a claim to excellence, which Johansson continues to uphold.

Spirit world can be streamed on Tubi in the US

Watch on Tubi