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Simply Perfect

How sad is this?

Fresh and Exciting

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This movie is ok most of the way through, a little scattered storyline, not much versatility, and they took every opportunity to get her naked. Towards the end it really goes off the rails and jumps the shark at the sodomy scene. With all of that I would still recommend this movie simply on Jessica Chastain's performance. She was amazing in her debut and it shows that, with her huge success now, she has been an outstanding actress from her first movie. This movie is probably a 4 without her and I can't wait to see her in more and more movies in the future.

"Jolene" is, in spite of a lot of previous comments, better than average. Jessica Chastain, playing the eponymous character is outstanding. Yes, her journey is repetitive in a way, and she never seems to learn from her experiences and continues to make terrible decisions in her life. I tend to assume that this is the point of the story. Every other part in the movie is somewhat small, as Jolene moves on and never goes back. But good work is done here by, among others, Frances Fisher, Theresa Russell, Denise Richards, and Shannon Whirry. Rupert Friend and Dermot Mulroney's characters were creepy in the extreme, which probably makes it more fun to play them. There are no likable characters in this film, including Jolene, and this is probably what turns off so many reviewers.

This is the problem with the film- it feels like emotional torture-porn of some sort. It keeps on going through the same scenario over and over again. If you've seen the first 20 minutes, you've pretty much seen it all. It's stuck on an endless cycle of despair. I get that's the point of this character-study, but it's just incredibly repetitive and predictable. Every time Jolene enters another aspect of her "journey", you just know how it will all end. As it is though, it's not exactly a bad film just because it's well executed, even if the script really isn't good. The performances are solid, but it serves as an amazing introduction to Jessica Chastain, the most exciting new face in Hollywood. It's her film, and it's because of her that my grade isn't any lower. She carries the film flawlessly, hitting all of the notes of her character, even if it's true that the script does give her the same stuff over and over again at times. See it for her, and let's all celebrate that she was able to break out as a true star.

Jessica Chastain, as Jolene, blows me away in this heartfelt adventure-drama. Known for more recent roles in The Help (2011) and The Tree of Life (2011) the relatively new actress is making big waves in Hollywood. Jolene is a breakout film for her, in which she captures the leading role by a longshot(and also SIFF Best Female Actress), with supporting actors having no more than about ten minutes on screen each. In the film, Chastain plays a redheaded vixen(she's one in real life too) orphan. She marries at an early age and struggles with household tasks as a wife, but finds her niche in her artwork. There's something about her that is irresistible and her newly-wed's father begins an affair with her. One thing leads to another and Jolene is sent to a psychiatric ward with no known family to vouch for her or take care of her. She uses her artistic abilities to make an income painting portraits of her inmates. A lesbian love affair with one of the guards eventually breaks her free. Jolene sets off west in search of a new life. She continues to find comfort in art becoming a tattooer's apprentice in Phoenix followed by an exotic dancer in Las Vegas. Through the course of multiple lovers and many different career paths, Jolene takes us on a thrilling journey across the United States from the perspective of a very fetching young female orphan.Bottom line: If you don't think Jessica Chastain is attractive, don't watch Jolene.