Image Source: Screen Rant, Glamour UK, FilmBook
Jessica Chastain, who recently starred in "Scenes of a Marriage" opposite Oscar Issac, is gearing up for her upcoming action thriller movie "The 355", opposite Lupita Nyong’o and Diane Kruger. The movie also stars Sebastian Stan, Fan Bingbing, and Penélope Cruz.
In a recent interaction interview with Empire, the actress who has appeared in movies such as Interstellar, Zero Dark Thirty, Mama, etc., shared how the industry has portrayed female spies with a wrong narrative. The actress started by stating that the offer to lead a female spy movie felt like an opportunity to contribute something new to the genre of female-led-spy movies and said, "I feel like the film industry has really got female spies wrong. They’ve portrayed them as honeypots, and that’s not the reality of the situation. Women weren’t being used for their bodies, they were being used for their minds, which is a more interesting concept. "
Jessica Chastain further shared that in the past seven years, she has only looked for roles in which her character seems challenging enough and will make a significant difference in society. For Jessica, the portrayal of a woman on-screen is very important because she mentioned that "we’ve moved against the status quo, and we’re creating our own narrative for it."
In The 355, Jessica Chastain portrays CIA agent Mace Brown, who teams up with a handful of expert international agents—Brit Khadijah, played by Lupita Nyong’o and German Marie, played by Diane Kruger—along with Colombian Graciela, played by Penélope Cruz, and Lin Mi Sheng, played by Fan Bingbing—to retrieve a top-secret weapon stolen by villainous mercenaries. The movie is all set to be released next year in January, as it was delayed due to the pandemic. The latest trailer for the film was released last month, and it managed to capture people's attention and keep them waiting for an action thriller starring three powerful women.
Jessica Chastain, who was appreciated for her role as Mira in the recently released drama series, "Scenes of a Marriage," believes that The 355 is going to give the audience a new and different perspective on the very popular genre. The movie is a passion project for the star cast, as they aim to make a difference and set a standard for the makers and the audience when it comes to action-thriller movies or female-led-spy movies. Simon Kinberg directs the movie, and the screenplay was written by Theresa Rebeck. The film’s title, "355", pays homage to the assembly of female spies that united during the American Revolution.
In an interview with Deadline, Jessica shared, "My goals and dreams for 'The 355' are that we just accept the fact that women are awesome and tough and badass. I'm excited for society to start acknowledging what's happening in our world". Whereas actress, Diane Kruger also shared that working with such a talented cast and crew on a movie that is women-centric and led by women made her feel valued. She shared during the interview that women who worked on the movie were also allowed to bring their children on sets which made the entire setting of the set feel like a family and she is glad to be a part of it.
Some reports have pointed out that Jessica Chastain’s comments come after actress Lashana Lynch starred in "No Time To Die", and is one of the James Bond series’ first women agents who step in as a successor to James Bond and takes over his code 0007. "No Time To Die" was Daniel Craig’s fifth and final movie as James Bond. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Lashana Lynch described her casting as the successor to James Bond as the right move. She quoted, "I feel very grateful that I get to challenge those narratives [...] We're moving away from toxic masculinity, and that's happening because women are being open, demanding, and vocal, and calling out misbehavior as soon as we see it. "
