Road to the Oscars #4: Best Actress

The category of Best Actress in a Leading Role has two record breakers this year. The first record broken is done by Emmanuelle Riva, the oldest woman to be nominated for this category at age 85 (for the movie Amour).  The second record broken is done by the 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, who is the youngest actress to be nominated for this category (for the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild). The other three outstanding nominees are Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook, Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, and Naomi Watts for The Impossible.

For this highly competitive category, I am betting that Jessica Chastain receives the Academy Award for her role as a strong, independent woman named Maya leading the charge against Osama bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty. I was floored by her outright amazing performance in this movie. Her progression from an innocent new recruit, immediately disgusted by the methods of torture her fellow Americans use, to an obsessed woman on the hunt for the biggest terrorist against our young nation is portrayed flawlessly by Chastain. The inevitable effects of hunting for the same man for a decade takes a toll on Chastain's character, mostly in psychological ways, and it takes a killer actress to demonstrate that to the audience.

My favorite Jessica Chastain scene in Zero Dark Thirty is Maya's reaction when she discovers that her best friend, Jessica, is killed by members of Al-Qaeda. Her sense of loss is short-lived, for she knows she has a mission she must complete. She wants to mourn Jessica, but it would be a waste of her friend's life if she did not continue the hunt for Osama bin Laden. This major character death completely shifts Maya's mindset, setting her on a deeply personal path to avenge Jessica's death along with the deaths of numerous Americans when Al-Qaeda brought down the Twin Towers.

I felt connected to Chastain's character throughout the entire film, mourning as she lost friends and acquaintances, becoming frustrated when she couldn't find Abu Ahmed, and celebrating with her when bin Laden was finally in a body bag . It takes a true actress to accomplish this sense of connection with the audience, but Chastain has no problem with it, once again proving her worthiness of receiving the Academy Award for Best Actress.

There is little doubt in my mind that Jessica Chastain deserves the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her competition is tough, for all the women in this category are phenomenal actresses, but I know that Chastain can pull through and get the votes to receive this esteemed honor. She, above all others, deserves it.