Chastain plays the grown daughter solving a gravitational problem in Interstellar and the mission commander in The Martian. Both parts are built on technical authority and on decisions taken under pressure, and she plays them without warmth as an obligation, which is exactly why the characters register as professionals.
She trained at a conservatory drama school and worked in theatre for years before film, arriving at screen leading roles later than most. That patience shows in her technique, which is precise and unhurried, and she has continued to return to the stage between films.
Recurring subjects: obsession with a problem, women whose certainty is treated as a personality flaw, and anger held at a controlled temperature. She plays intelligence as impatience, and she is willing to let a character be difficult rather than likeable. Her range extends well beyond the composed professionals she is best known for.
She has drawn multiple Academy Award nominations and won for a transformative lead role, and she has been a vocal advocate on pay equity and on production conditions. Her run of science fiction and thriller leads in the last decade has made her one of the more reliable presences in serious genre cinema.
For viewers who want scientists played as people with tempers. Suited to anyone drawn to procedural science fiction, and to those interested in an actor who trained for a decade before anyone noticed.
A haunting science fiction odyssey, "Interstellar" bends time and space with a masterful touch as it explores humanity's quest for survival among the stars.
Directed by Christopher Nolan, this visually stunning film features Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway in roles that challenge the boundaries of love and sacrifice.
Ridley Scott directs a tense, problem-solving science fiction survival tale adapted from Andy Weir. After an astronaut is stranded on Mars, he uses methodical science to diagnose and outwit each crisis, with Matt Damon keeping the tone sardonic, oddly cheerful, and stubbornly hopeful.