First Look: Chastain & Winslet, Ladies in Dresses
Friday, December 19, 2014 at 9:05AM
Manuel here to get your Friday started with some to-die for shots of two of our greatest working actresses. We’ve had behind the scenes looks at Kate Winslet’s The Dressmaker (see more of rugby-playing Liam Hemsworth and Kate in Australia here) and of Jessica Chastain’s Crimson Peak (see more of Chastain and Tom Hiddleston shooting in pseudo Burtonian drag here) but this week we finally got to see some polished official photos from their respective films.
Here is Kate looking ravishing as Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage in The Dressmaker (which just wrapped production). The film follows Tilly’s return to her rural Australian town where she uses her haute couture skills to help exact revenge on those who wronged her (or so the plot description tells me). Sounds gothic and lurid and gorgeous and precisely what I’d get from this pic. Anyone read the novel? Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, the film co-stars Hugo Weaving, Judy Davis and Hemsworth. I love this image, mostly because I love seeing well-coiffed and polished Kate. Also, in my head she’s saying “Gather!” so that helps)
Costumes for the film by Marion Boyce. Costumes for Kate by Margot Wilson
Costumes by Kate Hawley who did "Edge of Tomorrow" this year
Looking just as ravishing in the just-released first look at Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, is Chastain. Details are still scant on the film but here is the plot description: “In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author [Lady Lucille Sharpe] is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers.” The film co-stars Mia Wasikowska, Charlie Hunnam and Tom Hiddleston. Love the look of this; may this be the followup to Pan’s Labyrinth we’re still waiting del Toro to deliver?
Which ensemble is, in RuPaul parlance, giving you life?
Clearly both actresses have charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to spare, and are giving us great face, but if you had to choose from these two pics, which frocked lady would you say “Shantay you stay” to? Your choice, Sophies!
Reader Comments (19)
Do you think the world will forgive Kate and let her be nominated or is the backlash over.
Mark -- all it will take is a great performance in a good film. But we haven't seen one of those since her Oscar win so...
I't's a curse on some of our great actresses,after they win Hollywood goes cold that's why i fear a Julianne win in Lead or Chastain in supporting.
Kate's photo face, Chastain's everywhere/everything else. Would love to see Winslet in something weird/creepy/Victorian.
catbaskets -- ooooh, me too. Winslet needs to refind her edge. she made some odd choices (odd + wonderful) once and i think she needs to swing riskier for full groove (getting-it-back I mean)
It's totally unpredictable when Chastain's face is going to look positively striking or utterly dull. Somehow costumes and makeup don't factor; she manages to look SO plain in that outfit. It's amazing to me that such a beautiful woman who is such a talented actress can be so lost as a movie star.
It's a curse on some of our great actresses,after they win Hollywood goes cold that's why i fear a Julianne win in Lead or Chastain in supporting.
Julianne Moore winning Best Actress will not alter her non-standing standing with Hollywood. Moore was never a commercial draw. She is a real actress that does complex work for provocative and challenging filmmakers. She is like Tilda Swinton without the weirdo cool factor.
Jessica Chastain does not need an Oscar in Supporting Actress. I am really uneasy about her losing to Jennifer Lawrence. Chastain is a leading lady. Let those who can't get arrested in the lead category at the Oscars win the supporting statuettes.
The hat sort of reminds me of that gorgeous purple and cream number in Titanic. I'm not too fearful for her career, although it is strange how she's shifted so completely away from those livewire roles like Clementine, Juliet Hulme, even Marianne Dashwood. However much I enjoyed her in Revolutionary Road and Mildred Pierce, getting away from that perception of only playing depressed period housewives would be welcomed.
It's totally unpredictable when Chastain's face is going to look positively striking or utterly dull. Somehow costumes and makeup don't factor; she manages to look SO plain in that outfit. It's amazing to me that such a beautiful woman who is such a talented actress can be so lost as a movie star.
Chastain is not relying on personality for film performances. She actually went to school to become a Streep-ian level technician. Why would you want her to be a personality girl when it is so easy to hate them?
I can't decide. I want to see both (the del Toro sounds wonderful).
Kate Winslet needed to get to quote Madonna into her groove again.
I'm not worried about Kate. I predict 2015 is going to be another 2008 for her. She's got four movies and four very different roles, and four different accents. She's got Insurgent, for the kids, A Little Chaos, for those of us who like costume drama candy, and Triple Nine, a crime thriller(something I can't actually picture her in, which is really exciting because the same was probably said when someone read the screenplay for Eternal Sunshine) Add the Dressmaker to that, which sounds like its got all of the above mixed into one, Liam for the kids, candy dresses, and murder. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she got double nominations. Triple Nine-supporting and The Dressmaker-lead.
If looking dull in Tim Burton drag is part of Chastain's master plan to become the next Meryl Streep, I wish her a lot of luck. I'm no Meryl devotee but her charisma AND technical ability, now, and at the Chastain stage of her career, are far superior.
Hayden: I think your perspective of Chastain is wrong. Clearly directors are loving her for her ability to disappear into characters. And is precisely her non-star status yet talented that is landing her the jobs. Being a movie star most of the times is a detriment for being cast by auteurs. Chastain is compelling because of her lack of vanity which is reflected when you see her on the screen.
Manuel: I love both of these girls. I won't choose between them. I do agree with Nathaniel tho that once Winslet gives a knock-out performance, she will be embraced back by the Academy. I'm very intrigued by these two projects.
VERY much looking forward to the Moorehouse film. Once upon a time she directed one of the greatest Australian films ever (that'd be PROOF) and I'll always be waiting for another film even anywhere near as good as that one. With Kate and Judy, I'm hoping she's found it. The plot sounds particularly great/weird/promising.
Alright, guess I'm gonna wave the Kate flag here! :-) I'm confused about the "backlash" towards her. What backlash? Since the Oscar, she won her first Emmy, her third Golden Globe, her third SAG, and received 2 more Golden Globe nominations. She got 6 Golden Globe noms in the last 8 years. She also got a Cesar achievement award and a CBE. When did she fall out of public favour? People still love her.
She hasn't been nominated at the Oscars since winning, but that's not because the Academy said "No more, Kate, go away". It's because the Academy hasn't had a chance to nominate her yet. She took a 3 year break and then followed it up with a TV series (Mildred Pierce), two ensemble pieces (Contagion & Carnage), and the kid-friendly Divergent series. Those projects got her an Emmy win, critical artsy clout, and box office success respectively. She's done well. The thing is she hasn't chosen a "buzzed" Oscar-friendly role yet. When she does, the Academy will be all over her again.
Don't forget that she's had a steady career since 1994; Heavenly Creatures was her big break that led to Sense and Sensibility (her first Oscar nom) and she's been on a roll ever since. I think people should give her a break. Considering what she's done in her absence from the Oscars, her career is not in danger at all. She had an excellent 2011 with Mildred Pierce, Contagion, and Carnage. 2013 was her 'off' year (Labor Day didn't go anywhere), but what actor hasn't had a dud? And she still got a Golden Globe nomination out of it.
Honestly I think she knows exactly what she's doing. I read a recent interview in which she said something to the effect of her career being "back on" and that she's ready to get back to taking risks. It looks like she's moving towards that path with The Dressmaker and Triple Nine. It was also just announced that she's in talks for Jobs with Fassbender and Boyle.
I love Chastain. More please! She's a good actor and I would love to see her in more leading lady roles.
Kate sparring with Judy Davis is gonna be fireworks for sure - I can't wait!
Thank you Vanessa. It bothers me too when Winslet is doubted because she can relax from chasing Oscar. She is of course one of Nick Davis' pets from her four nominations in Best Actress. And the two she has in supporting positions her well for a Blue Jasmine level comeback for Oscar number two. Whether it is for nomination number seven or eight she's winning again. And will be in the double digits for her nomination count before they are done with her.