Jessica Chastain American wins her first Oscar for 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' in her third nomination
Jessica Chastain ruined Penelope Cruz's dreams of victory. Until the last second it seemed feasible, but the Academy was once again predictable and opted for a role tailor-made for the Oscars, a biopic about the rise and decline of a televangelist from deep America. Chastain's brilliance, together with her tremendous makeup work, ended up overthrowing the Parallel Mothers protagonist's choice for the best actress award.
The Californian actress thus completes her dream of glory at the age of 45. "I still can't understand that she's holding an Oscar," she said from the press room. "It's a beautiful moment and it means a lot for my career." Twice before she had competed without success, after the nominations for Maids and Ladies and Darkest Night, nine years ago. The role of Tammy Faye was unlikely to escape her, a woman who built a multimillion-dollar evangelical empire with her husband Jim Bakker, under the PTL (Praise the Lord) label.
In 1978, the couple built Heritage USA, a Christian theme park. Tammy Faye gained significant publicity when her husband was charged, convicted, and imprisoned on numerous counts of fraud and conspiracy in 1989, resulting in the dissolution of PTL.
The film is a journey through Faye's virtues and demons, including her suicide attempts. Chastain remembered people who feel "hopelessly alone," with suicide "the leading cause of death in the United States. In times like this I think of Tammy and it inspires compassion in me."
Beyond her indisputable talent, the award is a recognition of the perseverance of an actress who has literally given her all in the attempt. "I'm convinced I caused permanent damage" by layering makeup on a daily basis during filming. "I eat very purely, and I take good care of my skin, but this is heavy." Hard to forget the look of her under the permanent eyebrows and tons of makeup.
There will always remain the doubt of how close Penelope Cruz was to winning her second Oscar, in a loaded category in which the other three candidates could have won. Nicole Kidman seemed the favorite at the beginning of the awards season and was losing steam while Olivia Colman and Kristen Stewart rose, in what was the most open category of the night. In the end, there was no surprise.
