Thursday, February 7, 2013

Best Actress- Jessica Chastain

Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Academy-Award winner, Kathryn Bigelow, follows the decade-long story of CIA operative, Maya, as she, and others, struggle to desperately find and capture Osama bin Laden after the life-changing 9/11 attacks.
 
As everyone already knows the tragic story of 9/11 and the marks it left behind in history, Director Bigelow decided to skim through the basic information of al-Qaeda and their motives for destruction. Instead, the movie went into a completely different direction by boldly displaying the horrors of torture many al-Qaeda suspects were forced to endure by CIA operatives as a method to gather valuable information. As many already know, this action immediately garnered controversy for it made it seem that Americans had been reduced to act upon inhumane methods to discover the whereabouts of bin Laden. Due to this, the movie could have been deemed a failure because it touched one of the most sensitive topics in American history, yet what saved the movie from this fate was the realism portrayed by the actors.
 
Jessica Chastain plays relentless CIA operative, Maya, determined to bring her country to justice by any means. Chastain does a magnificent job in successfully capturing everything that Maya is suppose to be since her character embodies all the hard qualities a leader is known to have. Chastain plays her role with such confidence that the audience does not seems to doubt any of her actions, no matter how troubled they may seem. For example, Maya is known to follow all of her hunches, always trusting that "gut-feeling" about something; however, such a quality is sometimes doubted and even occasionally struck down by others that follow the more logical and rational side of situations. Yet, Chastain immediately lets the audience know that her character is a bold leader that strongly defends what she considers worthy, and due to this quality, the audience believes in Maya, which proves to be the right choice since it leads to a successful mission.
 
Another quality that makes Chastain's acting truly stand out is the fact that she manages to engage the audience in her character without even trying. For example, Maya is a strong-willed character, so it is no surprise that no background information is given--no family, no friends, and no social life, beyond that of work. To many, this simple combination may equal a boring and underdeveloped character, yet Chastain does not accept this fate for her character. Instead, she uses this to her advantage by having these traits serve as a window between the audience and her character; now the viewers will be able to realize how her character sees the world: one long but valuable goal worth obtaining.
 
Another example of such a technique are all the blank facial expression Chastain sometimes decides to use. For example, in one part of the film, the audience can see a televised interview of President Obama in which he states that all torture is wrong, especially since such acts violate the morals of the American people. The scene then cuts to a close-up of Chastain's character, Maya, looking at the t.v with a blank expression that makes it quite difficult to determine what exactly she is thinking about. Did the interview make her feel ashamed of her job because as a CIA operative, she is aware that sometimes torture is necessary in order to save innocent lives? Or did it annoy her that someway may want to take away the most efficient method for detecting terrorists? Chastain's stoic and silent expression may then be interpreted in any manner that the audience wishes which adds to the movie because then the viewers may discover a way to connect with the characters.
 
This technique is also very smart because it sets up the overall mood of the movie--seriousness. With Chastain's hard expression, the audience is then able to realize that the movie is all about an obsession to track down the man the whole world has dreaded for about a decade.
  
Overall, I believe Jessica Chastain's role as CIA operative, Maya, was very well done. Chastain did deserve her Oscar nomination, although she is going against tough competition. 

4 comments:

  1. I like how you pointed at how she utilizes her character& and is able to show the audience her point of view of the world. How it was one long but valuable goal worth obtaining.
    I have to give props to anyone who does a political-ish film like this because it is a touchy subject.
    She is against other great actresses as well...it's hard to say who will win because they all seem pretty darn great to me so far.

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  2. On an unrelated not, have you guys heard how inaccurate this movie and book was from the actual series of events?

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  3. I totally agree with you Alexa. I loved Jessica Chastain!!! And Spencer, I don't know if it truly was inaccurate or not because I'm a cynic who doesn't believe anything anyone tells me unless specific evidence is put out in front of me. :P Even if it is inaccurate, it's a hell of a good film!

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  4. I have yet to see Zero Dark Thirty, but it certainly looks like a movie to watch. After all, that event is soon to be written in our history books. Then again, there's always going to be some sort of Hollywood dramatizing that goes on. I'm still rooting for Jennifer Lawrence to win, but maybe watching this movie will change my mind.

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