Joey Magidson
Jessica Chastain is obviously one of the best actresses we currently have. What’s interesting is how quickly she arrived on the scene. Some people saw her in Jolene back in 2008, but it was 2010 with The Debt and especially 2011 when she blew up. Since then, she’s been a consistent force in the industry, even winning an Academy Award for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. With Dreams now in theaters, it feels like a good time to look at Chastain’s career so far.
Last week, Chastain starred in the new release Dreams, marking her latest work with filmmaker Michel Franco. Their previous collaboration, Memory (reviewed here), included the following praise for her quite underrated performance:
Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard have rarely been better than they are here. Chastain is all jagged edges and raised walls, but seeing how they start to crumble, with agonizing results, is really something. Sarsgaard, on the other hand, gives us a portrayal of someone dealing with dementia that we’ve never seen before. He’s so good, while doing something completely new. I was in awe of work. The pair eventually develop a gentle chemistry that’s downright hypnotic.
Below, you can see how Chastain stacks up for me. My favorite performance of hers, which also really feels like her best work still, is Zero Dark Thirty. Next in line, for yours truly, would be Miss Sloane and Molly’s Game, as well as the aforementioned Memory. Another underrated and under-seen turn of hers would be The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. Pretty much wherever you go with Chastain’s career, you can’t go wrong, and this is only including her big screen work. There’s been some impressive small screen performances as well. Plus, there’s a sense that she still has a ton to share with us, so in some ways, Chastain is still just getting started. Where does her Oscar win for The Eyes of Tammy Faye land? Find out next.
Here now is my ranking of the best Jessica Chastain performances to date. Behold:
Honorable Mention: The Debt, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, The Forgiven, The Good Nurse, and The Help
10. The Tree of Life
9. The Martian
8. Take Shelter
7. A Most Violent Year
6. Interstellar
5. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
4. Memory
3. Miss Sloane
2. Molly’s Game
1. Zero Dark Thirty
Cinematography by Greig Fraser
What are your favorite Jessica Chastain performances? Let us know!
Jessica Chastain is definitely one of those figures in cinema you and I have diametrically different interpretations of. I generally like her, but not only do I not consider Zero Dark Thirty her best work, I actually think it illustrates her most profound Achilles Heel as an actress.
I truly cannot fathom how she became the go-to lady to cast as kickass indominable girlboss characters, because… I don’t really know how else to say this, I think she’s flat-out bad at those roles. The way she screams at Kyle Chandler and recites the line “I’m the motherfucker who found this place, sir” genuinely made me cringe watching that movie. And she keeps getting cast in these roles! Molly’s Game, The Martian, Miss Sloane, Ava, The 355, The Debt… the number of times I’ve been expected to find her intimidating and steely truly blows me away, since I have never once been convinced by her in that mode.
I always found her best portraying more internalized or emotionally vulnerable characters like The Good Nurse, The Help, Take Shelter, and The Tree of Life. Heck, I actually think one of her finest performances so far in her career was in A Most Violent Year precisely because Anna is revealed to be far less dangerous than she lets on.
I obviously disagree, but fair points, and A Most Violent Year is obviously tremendous work.