When the trailer for Jessica Chastain’s upcoming spy film, “The 355,” was released earlier this week, people were applauding the actress for producing a film that clearly puts the emphasis on showing that women from all over the world can lead a genre of action film that was previously dominated by men. However, that doesn’t mean “The 355” was free from criticism, specifically when it came to the decision to cast Penélope Cruz as a Colombian woman.
For those that didn’t see the trailer, “The 355” stars Chastain as a spy that has to enlist the best women in the world (an all-star group that includes Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, and the aforementioned Cruz) for a mission to save the planet. You know, typical super spy shit. And each of the actors brought on represents a unique location in the world, with China, Germany, the United States, the UK, and Colombia represented. But in the case of Cruz, who represents Colombia, people took offense, as the actress is actually Spanish and not from South America.
Variety went ahead and published an op-ed about the casting issue, questioning why the film took liberties with representation when it came to the Latina character, pointing out that “not every Hispanic Person is Latino.” In response to this criticism, Chastain, who is also a producer on the film, explained the reasoning for hiring Cruz for the role.
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“When I had the idea of making this film, we didn’t have a script or financing,” said Chastain in a statement. “Penelope was incredibly helpful in this regard. After conversations with our consultant, I brought her the idea that she could play a fervent agent from Brazil. She mentioned that it wouldn’t be right for her to play a character from Brazil, as the majority language is Portuguese.”
She continued, “I realized that Colombia has a rich ethnic heritage, with approximately 80% of the population having European or mixed European heritage. We settled on a character who is a descendant from the colonization of Spain in the New World.”
While the explanation does detail the thought process behind hiring a Spanish woman to portray a Colombian person, mainly due to the fact that Cruz is an A-list talent that will help secure other talent and financing, it does seem to fall a bit short of fully appeasing those who had hoped for something better from Chastain, who is a very vocal activist in Hollywood, campaigning for diversity, inclusivity, and pay equity.
And to be fair, in an industry that not that long ago thought it was okay to cast Scarlett Johansson as the lead in a “Ghost in the Shell” film, it’s nice to know that Chastain and her partners (in conjunction with Cruz herself) did their best to try to make it work and be culturally sensitive.
“The 355” arrives in theaters on January 15, 2021.