Jessica Chastain is a talented actress who’s done her fair share of frock flicks. And, team redhead! Let’s take a look:
Charlotte in Blackbeard (2006)
A TV miniseries set in 1717 (allegedly), about the famous pirate Blackbeard. Chastain is clearly the ingenue. I half want to watch this for snark week.
Battenberg lace parasol alert!
That’s a deeply shitty … jacket? Dress? Thing?
Also, dupioni alert!
Mary Debenham in Poirot: “Murder on the Orient Express” (2010)
THE classic Agatha Christie tale.
Okay now THAT is a gorgeous dress!
Celia in The Help (2011)
She’s the ditzy, socially ostracized lady who hires the disgraced Minny, an African American maid.
Surprisingly blonde in this film! Ph: Dale Robinette / ©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.
SUCH a cute playsuit | Ph: Dale Robinette / ©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.
Mrs. O’Brien in The Tree of Life (2011)
“The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents’ conflicting teachings,” per IMDB.
Fine?
Meh.
Back to fine.
Maggie Beaufort in Lawless (2012)
A film about outlaw bootleggers in the 1930s. I’m unclear who Chastain plays, but she’s the lead female actor and clearly down with the outlaws.
Shades of Bonnie & Clyde.
I like the gathers on the blouse, but this seems very 1970s.
Ok!
Miss Julie in Miss Julie (2014)
An adaptation of the 1890-set August Strindberg play, about the power struggle between a rich lady and her servant. I’m never going to watch it, because this dress is nothing compared to Sandy Powell’s design for the 1999 version.
I mean, what’s 1890 about this?
It just seems ye-oldey-timey.
Lucille Sharpe in Crimson Peak (2015)
She’s the creepy sister in this late 19th century-set horror film … that features STUNNING costumes, especially on Chastain!
The ruff! The ruffles!
Oodles of fabric!
Every goth’s dream outfit!
Catherine Weldon in Woman Walks Ahead (2017)
In the 1890s, a real-life painter goes to Dakota to paint famed chief Sitting Bull.
She starts out all fancy and East Coast.
I’m not sold on this color, but otherwise this is gorgeous. Yes, her hair comes down, quite literally.
Literally!
Antonina Zabinska in The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017)
During World War II, a married couple — who are zookeeper’s — save hundreds of people and animals.
Very chic!
Nice casual wear | Credit: Anne Marie Fox / Focus Features
Great print!
Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
Just on the cusp of our period cut-off, but her performance — as the famous televangelist — is too good not to include.
Look at that bubble flip!
Aaaaand then things go scary. Authentically scary!
Tammy Wynette in George & Tammy (2022-23)
A TV mini-bio-series about the country musicians Wynette and George Jones. Definitely on my list, but then I love my biopics!
Oh 1970s, how unflattering you could be.
That dress would be so hideous on most anyone else, but she’s working it.
Glam!
Which is your favorite of Jessica Chastain’s frock flick roles?
I loved Crimson Peak; I got to see Lucille’s red dress as part of the Guillermo Del Toro exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario a few years ago and the amount of workmanship and tiny details (a lot of which didn’t get picked up on camera) is stunning.
My only memory of “The Tree of Life” is that utterly bonkers dinosaur scene.
She was excellent as a small-town Marilyn with a tragic secret in The Help. (Very) unpopular opinion alert- I hated Crimson Peak, probably because Mia Wakowski strikes me as a black hole of charisma. She bores me to tears.
My favorite is Tree of Life, though the above plot description seems… misleading at best. I love love love the bonkers dinosaur scene.
Love her! She reminds me of the excellent, sadly departed Chadwick Boseman in that she’s done a surprising number of biopics (and done well in them!) for someone who’s very distinct-looking.
Oh, god, a bubble flip! That does it: I MUST find “Tammy Faye.” But the beige-y thing J.C. wears as Tammy Wynette is the ugliest matron-dress (mother of a Mormon bride?) I’ve ever seen, especially on such a hot young woman.
Crimson Peak, of course.
Crimson Peak is my fave of her FrockFlick roles, though, she really is excellent in everything–even in shows that I loathe like The Help. Even though I couldn’t compare it to the 1999 version of Miss Julie that you raved about, I couldn’t get through 2000s version with Chastain and Colin Farrell, both actors whom I enjoy. It just screamed “two hander poorly adapted for film”–and I just wasn’t in the mood. The nonfiction book The Zookeeper’s Wife is 9 out of 10 stars, and I HIGHLY recommend reading this compelling little-known story. Although I must admit that I am biased and would gush over Diane Ackerman’s (the author’s) grocery list! I haven’t seen the movie yet and had forgotten that Chastain played the lead. This post is the nudge I needed to finally watch it. I also really wanted to watch Blackbeard and Lawless. Good WCW choice!
I enjoy Ms. Chastain’s work, but her look at the recent Met Gala made her look alarming like a femme fatale from some horrible timeline where the Third Reich won the Second World War with help from Alien Space Nazis.
Strong ‘Master Race’ vibes make me suspect Ms. Chastain should either stay redheaded or avoid wearing black while being very, very blonde!