Jess Chastain: McConaughey broke my heart

Jessica Chastain felt “heartbroken” when she watched Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar.

The stars both appear in Christopher Nolan’s latest film, which is about a group of space explorers who use a wormhole to try to save humankind.

Matthew stars as Cooper while Jessica portrays the grown-up version of his daughter Murph, which she found incredibly tough.

“Watching Matthew’s performance in this film is so heartbreaking. And the character that I play could never know the effect her words have on everyone…” she told entertainment.suntimes.com “This is definitely [a spiritual film]. I was surprised when I first saw the film. There were elements that reminded me of Tree of Life. That was all about nature vs. grace. This film, it’s about body and spirit, the connection. This relationship between science and spirit.”

Jessica was referring to her 2011 movie co-starring Brad Pitt, about a family struggling to come to terms with the way life has panned out.

The actress believes Interstellar tells a much bigger story than many realise. Although the questions about space and time travel are major, for her the most important parts are the relationships between the characters.

“This is one of Chris’ most personal films. The production company name is Flora’s Letter. And I was on set and I was talking to this little girl, and she told me she was Chris’ daughter. It’s his eldest child, his only daughter, and her name is Flora,” she recalled. “And as soon as I realised that… Chris had never told me. It kind of opened my character in a new way. I realised yes, this is a thrilling, visually stunning space exploration film, but the core of this movie is about the powerful bonds of love, and it’s about the relationship between a father and a daughter.”