Yes, it's a shot of Scarlett Johansson's bum. No, it didn't make the list for that reason alone. Stop giggling. Sofia Coppola's headily romantic tale of finding love in a foreign city begins as it means to go on: located in the privacy of sterile hotel rooms. Here, Johansson's Charlotte is almost literally naked from the outset Coppola lays the character bare, while also keeping her as emotionally distant as Coppola views life in the city of Tokyo itself. Note that we don't see her face, but her body turned way; she's laid down with the blinds closed, defeated, as the character admits when Bill Murray's Bob Harris first meets her. Coppola isn't just providing titillation for male viewers either Charlotte is dressed plain, unremarkable, seemingly without any thought given to the male gaze, and it's the ordinariness of Johansson in the role that makes it her best, most honest performance to date.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
