An Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Nominated for The Help and Zero Dark Thirty. Lead roles in Miss Sloane, Molly’s Game, A Most Violent Year, Interstellar, It: Chapter Two, and The Martian. What do they all have in common? Jessica Chastain. Versatile indeed, a wide range of roles portraying strong, flawed women often in emotionally grueling situations. She’s empathetic, sensitive, and authentic whether it’s sci-fi, horror, or human drama. Her two most recent films profiled here are not among her best (through no fault of her own), but they could be worth checking out. Otherwise, this post may entice you to seek out some of her earlier films that you haven’t seen.
The Good Nurse
The Good Nurse is a 2022 Netflix true-crime medical drama co-starring Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything, The Danish Girl). Directed by Tobias Lindholm (writer of Another Round, see previous post Another Round Movie Review: “All Fired Up and Laid Back at the Same Time”) and based on the book of the same name by Charles Graeber, The Good Nurse is a slow burn with simmering tension between pure evil and empathy. Chastain plays Amy, a single ICU night shift nurse with medical issues of her own and no health insurance. Redmayne plays Charlie, whose appearance as the newly hired night nurse seems to be a savior for Amy, both at work and at home. But as tragedy strikes the hospital, Amy works with investigators (Noah Emmerich and Nnamdi Asomugha) and starts to unravel the mystery. Charlie is not the caring individual he pretends to be. The hospital administrator (Kim Dickens, Fear the Walking Dead) and the system in general, carry some blame for their cover-ups and hiring practices. (This is Charlie’s 9th short-lived stint at different hospitals!) It’s a subtle true-crime story which for some might be too dispassionate, for others the restraint might be refreshing. The two leads shine as usual helping to overcome some stilted dialog. The night shift hospital lighting is the perfect setting for this somber, menacing tale.
D² Rating ◼◼◼☐☐
The Forgiven
David (Ralph Fiennes, Schindler’s List, The English Patient) and Jo (Chastain) are involved in a tragic accident while traveling through the Moroccan desert to a friend’s lavish weekend party. Upon arriving at the party, the wealthy London couple attempts to cover it up with help from the party hosts and local police. A local Moroccan elder arrives at the party villa seeking justice and demands that David accompany him to find it. This sets the stage for a cinematic juxtaposition between two cultures, the traditional life of the Moroccan desert and the ongoing bacchanal back at the villa.
The Forgiven is a 2021 film, directed by John Michael McDonagh, based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. It’s a satire of good and evil, the party goers are self-indulgent, shallow Europeans luxuriating amidst the native Moroccans eking out an existence in the desert. The Forgiven is a dark and dirty morality play about guilt, remorse, and forgiveness. The brooding tale of despicable behavior may not be for everyone. These people are hard to like. David’s path presents the possibility for change or even redemption. But it may be too late for him.
D² Rating ◼◼◩☐☐
What’s next for Jessica Chastain? Starting this upcoming Sunday, December 4th, she’s playing another Tammy. This time it’s Tammy Wynette in Showtime’s limited series George and Tammy (George Jones is played by Michael Shannon). The first episode premieres at 9:00 p.m. PST on both the Showtime and Paramount networks. After that it’s just the Showtime network on Sunday nights (available streaming and on demand to Showtime and Paramount+ bundle subscribers on Fridays thereafter ahead of the Sunday night Showtime airing).
Trivia: Jessica Chastain starred in what trippy 2011 film with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn?
Answer: The Tree of Life