'Heartland' Netflix Review: So Moody And Broody It’ll Leave You Gloomy

Just because Chastain amazes me with her range, she is every superstar’s nightmare, because she can take their jobs in half a second. She is just that good. But the problem with Heartland is that, despite it resting entirely on Chastain’s shoulders, the plot is just not there. I am immediately reminded of that Ben Aflleck movie that came out on Netflix about a month and a half ago that was so bad I can’t even remember the title of it (okay, it was Animals). Based on the title, Heartland, you might assume it’s a Homeland style sad military man movie, but the truth is it’s a sad country musician woman movie. The story follows Misty, a mysterious and reclusive ex-country musician. When she learns that her niece, who is an up-and-coming musician herself, has gone missing, she is forced to take matters into her own hands to find her. As the story unfolds, many secrets unravel, but the question remains, is Charlie alive, is she okay, and will Misty be able to find her?

On paper, this plot sounds meaty enough to be entertaining, especially as a thriller with a female lead. The concept is there. We are following a woman who is struggling with her inner demons, is mean to everybody, and wants to hide herself away in isolation. Basically, she is just Bruce Wayne without his billions. But the problem is, when you’re watching a movie like this at home, you tend to lose interest the moment things get past the first act. Yes, the characters have been introduced at this point, but you’re not really invested in them. This specifically applies to a character like Charlie, the niece, who we know nothing about, even though the film is actively trying to get us interested in her. Charlie is too much of a mystery to us, and that makes us not care about her fate as much as we should, considering that is what the movie’s about.

Here’s the thing, if I were to have watched this movie in the theater, I may have found it less empty and felt it was more of a character study that is worthy of your time. But the unfortunate truth is, despite Chastain’s incredible performance, the plot is too lackluster for me to recommend the film to you. Speaking of her performance, I had no idea that she could sing, but apparently this is her second time playing a country musician, and that’s one time more than I’d have thought. Honestly, if I were into country music, I might have resonated with the soundtrack of this movie, but even though I’m not super into it, I must emphasize that I still appreciate what is going on. Apart from her really cool leather outfits, and the lovely Canadian suit, I found Chastain’s performance especially engaging in the action sequences. I did say she’s the best part of the movie. The other actors are essentially forgettable, because they don’t get enough screen time to leave a lasting impression. It appears this is Carter Faith’s first screen acting role, and though she doesn’t get to stick around for long, she definitely shows good screen presence. She does give us a performance of a ballad, which sent me down a rabbit hole that led me to realize that she is on the soundtrack of the upcoming Hunger Games prequel. What an exciting month for this lady.

I feel like I’m repeating myself every time I bring this up about Netflix movies, but at this point, it seems almost like it’s their policy that any thriller, or horror, or neo-noir, or really anything that’s not comedy has to be too dark for home viewing. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the daytime or if it’s with the lights on or even with the lights off, because some of our screens are just not up to scratch. At least the musical performances within the movie look decent, even though a lot of it looks digitally rendered. If they did go to the effort of hiring a crowd and building a stage, it sure doesn’t look like it. It certainly has the visual hallmarks of a country movie, though, with the dust everywhere and the yellow backgrounds and the hats and cowboy boots. I did already mention the outfits, but I want to talk about the all-black one in particular, because boy does Jessica Chastain look FIRE. I guess that’s reason enough for you to watch the movie.

I wanted to like this movie, because it is a thriller with a strong female lead, and written and directed by a woman at that, but the unfortunate truth is that though it has the elements of something exciting, it ends up feeling too derivative of boring man movies to feel original. I mean, it’s not exactly The Searchers with a female lead, but it kinda is, you know? When we’re asking for female-led movies, we don’t want the same stuff but gender-reversed. We simply want our stories to be told. I do appreciate the way the film has been shot, and how it never actually depicts the violence until it’s inflicted on the bad guys.

At the end of the day, if you like country movies and country music, there is a chance you will enjoy Heartland. I don’t know if I’d say it’s a bad movie, because I’ve seen far worse on Netflix, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good movie. However, I still feel the urge to recommend this movie to you because of Jessica Chastain’s performance (and her outfits). I think the movie would’ve been far better if the plot had been sketched out a little better, but I guess it works as a character study. You may end up second-screening this one, because it does have some drab elements that stretch out the runtime. But I suppose, considering it just made me feel meh, I would give it 2.5 out of 5 stars (an extra .25 for her costumes).