Jessica Chastain gets her character in 'Zero Dark Thirty'

As the overstressed beating heart of "Zero Dark Thirty," a CIA analyst named Maya who relentlessly chases after the hated phantom that was Osama bin Laden, Jessica Chastain is at times steely, at times shattered, potty-mouthed but somehow girlish, touchingly lonely but scrutinized by the entire spy agency's hierarchy.

By Fred Schruers

December 20, 2012