Jolene (2008)

Jessica Chastain is having a good year; it seems like she's pushing out quality performances left and right (Take Shelter, The Help). But let's flashback to an earlier work.

In Jolene, Chastain plays a woman raised in foster care who sets off on the open road to find her place in the world. It's a sad story (as tales of foster kids tend to be) but the film showcases Chastain's talent. She can shift her character with ease from waitress to the wife of a millionaire in a natural evolution. It makes you imagine her in other potential roles, there's a depth she can pull from to transformer herself, something along the lines of the on-camera fierceness of say Kate Winslet. Chastain has that kind of awards potential. In some ways, this movie feels like an extended version of Stacie Orrico's "More to Life" music video, and I mean that as a compliment.

Available on Netflix.