Scarlett Johansson

2005–07
In July 2005, Johansson starred, with Ewan McGregor, in Michael Bay's science fiction film, The Island, in dual roles as Sarah Jordan and her clone, Jordan Two Delta. The film was a domestic financial failure and received mixed critical reviews. In contrast, her role as Nola, the American actress with whom Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is obsessed, in the Woody Allen-directed drama Match Point, was well-received. The New York Times said, "Ms. Johansson and Mr. Rhys-Meyers manage some of the best acting seen in a Woody Allen movie in a long time, escaping the archness and emotional disconnection that his writing often imposes." Mick LaSalle, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, said, "Johansson is a powerhouse from the word go", and, "Her performance borders on astonishing." Johansson received her fourth Golden Globe nomination, and one from the Chicago Film Critics Association, for Best Supporting Actress.
In another collaboration with Allen, Johansson was cast opposite Hugh Jackman and Allen in the 2006 feature, Scoop. While the film enjoyed a modest worldwide box office success, it received mixed reviews by critics. The New York Times called the film "not especially funny yet oddly appealing" and cited parallels to The Thin Man, saying, "while Johansson is certainly no Myrna Loy, her performance is all over the place ... but finally works for a film that is itself all over the place. Mr. Allen seems happy to just watch her strut her stuff, and after a while so are we." New York magazine said, "Johansson doesn’t have the natural buoyancy to play a screwball Nancy Drew, but she’s smart enough to know what’s needed (a young Diane Keaton), and manages to rouse herself", while USA Today criticized "her delivery of Allenesque one-liners" as "clunky", and "sometimes, she seems in over her head playing opposite Allen." The same year, she appeared in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, a film noir shot in Los Angeles and Bulgaria. Johansson later said she was a De Palma fan and had wanted to work with him on the film, even though she thought that she was "physically wrong" for the part. Her reviews were mixed. CNN.com noted, "Johansson takes to the pulpy period atmosphere as if it were oxygen," whereas the Kalamazoo Gazette referred to Johansson as "miscast".