Claim: Scarlett Johansson is an actress in films.

Lucy is a 2014 English-language French science fiction action film written and directed by Luc Besson and produced by his wife Virginie Besson-Silla for his company Europacorp . The film was shot in Taipei , Paris and New York City . It stars Scarlett Johansson , Morgan Freeman , Choi Min-sik and Amr Waked . Johansson portrays the title character , a woman who gains psychokinetic abilities when a nootropic drug is absorbed into her bloodstream .   The film was released on July 25 , 2014 , and became a box office success , grossing over $ 463 million , 11 times the budget of $ 40 million . It received positive , but also polarizing , critical reviews . Although praise was given for its themes , visuals , and Johansson 's performance , a number of critics found the plot nonsensical , especially its focus on the ten percent of the brain myth and resulting abilities .