By: Ruben Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
 |
| LIKE A DREAM. (From left) Actors Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, and Brad
Pitt pose on the red carpet before the screening of "The Tree of Life"
presented at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2011 in Cannes.
AFP FILE PHOTO |
LOS ANGELES – Jessica Chastain was in a daze. She had just come from
the Cannes Film Festival where no less than Brad Pitt and Sean Penn held
each of her hand as they walked and posed before the mob of screaming
photographers at the premiere of their Terrence Malick film, “The Tree
of Life.”
“I slept late the other day,” said Jessica in an LA hotel meeting
room. Suddenly, she’s the “it” actress. “The Tree of Life,” in which
Jessica plays Brad’s wife, won Cannes’ top plum, Palme D’Or.
Meanwhile, Jeff Nichols’ “Take Shelter,” where she stars opposite
Michael Shannon, took the grand prize in the festival’s Critics Week
section and also snagged best screenwriting honors.
“All day yesterday, I didn’t leave the house,” said the
Juilliard-trained actress whose films will be released this year. In
addition to the two Cannes winners, the 30-year-old is likewise in
“Coriolanus” with Ralph Fiennes (who also directs), “The Debt” with
Helen Mirren, “The Fields” with Sam Worthington and the highly
anticipated acting ensemble piece, “The Help.”
We saw Jessica act for the first time when she essayed the title role
in an LA staging of Oscar Wilde’s “Salome.” She acted opposite Al
Pacino, who directed a film version, with Jessica also in the eponymous
role, which premieres in the coming Venice Film Festival.
Adrenaline rush
The Northern California–raised actress, who wore a yellow gown as she
stood beside Brad and Sean in the premiere photos that were splashed in
publications all over the world, said of her post-Cannes week: “I
stayed in my sweats and I was like lying on the ground. It was like I
don’t even know what I just did. It’s slowly coming back to me. It was a
surge of adrenaline of going day by day. I wasn’t even able to think of
the week.”
She thought the premiere of ‘The Tree of Life’ was crazy: “That was
the biggest red carpet I’ve ever seen. When we finally got to the top of
the stairs and Brad started waving to the right, I was like, ‘What’s he
waving at?’ I look and it was this sea of people on both sides.”
Critics divided
Recalling the minutes of blinding camera flashes from a long line of
photographers, Jessica said: “It was like being a little kid and being
led through what I want to say was a haunted house but it wasn’t
haunted. Because it was really fun. I see pictures now and I go, wow, I
was really smiling… But at the same time I was thinking, guys, please
don’t let go of my hands. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime
experiences. I’ll never forget it.”
While there were reports of booing at the Cannes press screening of
“Tree…,” the long-gestating project emerged triumphant by the festival’s
end. Critics were divided, as usual, in their reaction toward this
latest work by a director who takes years to get his films made and
released. Variety’s Justin Chang took the pro stand, describing the film
as “nothing less than a hymn to the glory of creation, an exploratory,
often mystifying 138-minute tone poem.”
Asked about the reclusive Terrence, whom he calls Terry, and his
much-written-about zero or low visibility in Cannes, Jessica answered:
“First, I do want to say that Terry was at the festival and at the
screening. He just doesn’t do press but he’s absolutely supportive of
the actors and all of us who were there.”
A fan of Terrence’s work, which includes such gems as “The Thin Red
Line,” “Days of Heaven” and “The New World,” Jessica described the first
time she read his script for “Tree…”: “It was like reading a novel. I
think the script should be published because it’s one of the best pieces
of writing I’ve ever read.”
She recalled that she didn’t get the script until after “I had been
auditioning for months. I really don’t know what the story was about, so
when Terry called and asked, ‘Would you like to play the character?’ I
said, ‘Yes.’ He goes, ‘Let me send you the script first.’ I said, ‘It
doesn’t matter. I’ll play the character.’ He said, ‘Please read the
script.’ It took me quite a long time to read the script because every
sentence is written like poetry. It’s so dense.”
Jessica, the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival best actress
for “Jolene,” admitted being surprised that Terrence chose her: “I
remember thinking, wow, this mother’s a really great part. How did I get
into this situation and am I going to get fired? I was shocked that I
was getting offered this part.”
‘OMG’ moment
Telling us that she has a “small part” in Terrence’s
new untitled film, Jessica went on to recount her “OMG” moment when she
found out that Brad would play her husband: “It just never crossed my
mind that we would be in a film together playing husband and wife. When I
was having a conversation with Terry on the phone while he was casting
the character, he said: ‘Jessica, I’ve cast the father and it’s going to
be Brad Pitt.’ I had this moment of I didn’t hear it right and then I
was trying to be calm on the phone and not be like, ‘Brad Pitt!’ I was
just like, ‘Okay, yes, he’s a great actor.’ My friend was in the room
and I was kind of shaking. I grabbed a Sharpie and a pad and I wrote,
‘Brad Pitt’ and underlined it. We both threw our hands in the air. It
was definitely an ‘Oh my God!’ moment.”
Since Brad plays a stern father figure, Jessica said her role
required her to spend more time to bond with the actors who played her
young sons. “With Brad, it was different because … my character is
trying to reach out to him and have him open his heart,” she said. “So
we didn’t really need that much bonding time because the characters are
un-tethered from each other. She’s constantly trying to reach out to
him.”
Asked for her own assessment of “Tree…,” she opined: “It’s nice when a
film makes the world a better place to live in. For me, ‘The Tree of
Life’ makes me want to be a better human being and I hope people watch
the film and will be inspired to be more compassionate to others. I
don’t necessarily look for films that are political or want to say
something. I look for something I’ve never done before. My characters in
‘The Debt,’ ‘The Tree of Life’ or even ‘The Help’ couldn’t be more
different from each other.”
Jessica’s family – dad’s a fireman in San Francisco, mom’s “a vegan
chef/stay at home mom,” two brothers and two sisters – don’t brag about
her acting career. So some family friends were surprised to see her with
Brad in the “Tree…” trailer. Family pals will see Jessica in more
previews, including “The Wettest Country in the World,” where she
appears with Shia LaBeouf.
A lover of animals, Jessica volunteers whenever she can at Animal
Acres, a refuge for farmed animals outside LA. “I shovel hay and help
care for the horses,” she said. “For me, the idea of being a better
human being is you get what you put out. If you’re kind to someone, I do
believe that little act of kindness creates a huge trickle effect. Of
course, I’m not a saint but that’s my thing.”
E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.
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