We’ll take good news where we can get it this year, and this time it comes in a trailer for an all-woman led spy thriller. The trailer for The 355 dropped in the early hours of the morning after Jessica Chastain, one of the stars of the film, discussed the project and premiered a teaser during Late Night with Seth Meyers.
The 355‘s official Twitter account teased the trailer earlier in the day by posting individual posters for each character. Check out the thread below!
Here is Universal Pictures’ description of the film:
“A dream team of formidable female stars come together in a hard-driving original approach to the globe-trotting espionage genre in The 355. When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, wild card CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Oscar®-nominated actress Jessica Chastain) will need to join forces with rival badass German agent Marie (Diane Kruger, In the Fade), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Oscar® winner Lupita Nyong’o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Oscar® winner Penélope Cruz) on a lethal, breakneck mission to retrieve it, while also staying one-step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan, X-Men: Days of Future Past), who is tracking their every move.
As the action rockets around the globe from the cafes of Paris to the markets of Morocco to the wealth and glamour of Shanghai, the quartet of women will forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the world—or get them killed.
The film also stars Sebastian Stan (Avengers: Endgame) and Edgar Ramírez (The Girl on the Train).”
Simon Kinberg directed The 355. He was also the writer-director-producer of X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Kinberg is also a co-writer of the film alongside Theresa Rebeck. This marks the second time Kinberg’s teamed up with Chastain. Chastain also serves as a producer on The 355.
It’s hard not see the buzz on social media of women around the world celebrating the concept of and representation in The 355. Even in 2020, it’s still so rare for women to be the lead of an action film. It’s even rarer for an ensemble of women to lead such a project.
However, this excitement does come with necessary critiques, like the casting of Penelope Cruz as a Colombian agent named Graciela. Our very own Lizzie shared why she believes this casting is a bad decision:
“I have mixed feelings about this, because the movie looks amazing, we need more female centered movies like this one, and I really want to support it – but Penelope Cruz is getting on my last nerve. Why does she keep getting latinx roles? Has Hollywood still not figured out she’s from Spain, which is very firmly not in Latin America? Learn a little history: Spain colonized most of Latin America. So, no she shouldn’t be playing latinx roles. And, like, if you’re going to hand wave that away, could you at least get her an accent coach so she sounds believably Colombian? Is that too much to ask?”
We shouldn’t stop demanding more accurate and equal representation in the media we consume. We should acknowledge The 355‘s triumphs and missteps and also celebrate its existence and general awesomeness. Multiple things can be true at the same time.
There are already people on social media comparing The 355 to the female-led heist movie Ocean’s 8 from 2018. A spy thriller and a heist movie aren’t the same thing. All genres overlap, but comparing these projects feels like a cheap way to limit the stories told about women. The only thing that’s similar about them is that there are more women in them than some people are comfortable with. There are already men on social media replying to women’s excitement about The 355 with things like, “Hm, I’m shocked at how good this looks.”
Fangirlish’s Lyra speaks to this: “Ignoring the fact that they have a Spaniard playing a Latinx person, this movie looks pretty good. And the fan reaction, even though the trailer has been out for 2.5 seconds, is a bit concerning but typical. Men are comparing the movie to other movies starring women and wondering why we need more movies like this. Well, male Karen, how many movies are we going to get with Dwayne Johnson or Tom Cruise before you start complaining that they’re all the same? Nothing? I thought so. Keep moving on and let us enjoy The 355!”
Sometimes art isn’t made for every audience. Movies like Wonder Woman are meant to target a certain demographic. The 355 is no different. This trailer prioritizes a group of heroic women and their stories, and the men come secondary to that. And that’s okay. I can’t wait to see Sebastian Stan be somewhat of a Bond Boy to Chastain’s Bond. It’s a role reversal Hollywood still desperately needs.
The 355 is set to release in theaters on January 15, 2021. Hopefully The 355 won’t be delayed like most other films, because we can’t wait to see it.
Check out the trailer below! What are your thoughts about The 355? Let us know in the comments below!
