10 Underrated Jessica Chastain Movies You Must See

Jessica Chastain has built a career that stretches across intimate character studies and large scale studio releases. Audiences often recognize her from titles like ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, ‘Interstellar’, and ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’, yet her filmography includes many projects that did quieter business while offering substantial roles and rich historical or literary contexts. These films feature collaborations with respected directors, detailed period work, and stories drawn from real events and acclaimed texts.

This roundup brings together lesser seen work where Chastain’s roles intersect with notable source material, distinctive production choices, and thoughtful writing. You will find film versions built from paired perspectives, adaptations of classic drama, historical biographies grounded in documented records, and genre pieces constructed with elaborate practical sets. Each entry summarizes the premise, creative team, and key collaborators so you can decide what to queue up next.

‘A Most Violent Year’ (2014)

Written and directed by J C Chandor, this crime drama follows a heating oil entrepreneur and his family as they navigate investigations, extortion, and industry rivalries in New York City. Jessica Chastain plays Anna Morales, whose background and bookkeeping become central to the company’s legal and financial exposure. The film features Oscar Isaac as Abel Morales with supporting roles for David Oyelowo and Albert Brooks, and it uses Queens and Brooklyn locations to anchor its period setting.

Cinematography comes from Bradford Young with production handled by independent partners and domestic distribution by A24. The story examines business practices, city politics, and the interaction between prosecutors and corporate counsel, presenting detailed procedures around audits, raids, and loan agreements. Wardrobe and set design emphasize the era’s corporate style and residential interiors to reinforce the tension between personal life and public scrutiny.

‘The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’ (2013)

This project exists in three versions titled ‘Him’, ‘Her’, and ‘Them’, all written and directed by Ned Benson. The twin films present separate viewpoints of a couple in crisis while the combined cut offers a streamlined narrative, and all versions track the aftermath of a shared loss. Jessica Chastain plays Eleanor opposite James McAvoy, with Viola Davis, Isabelle Huppert, William Hurt, and Bill Hader in key supporting roles.

The production structures scenes to repeat locations and events from different vantage points, which highlights how memory and language shift across partners and families. Editing choices vary among the cuts, so running times and scene order differ by version. The films were shot in and around New York City, and the score and sound design accent the contrast between intimate dialogue and the city’s ambient noise.

‘Miss Julie’ (2014)

Adapted from the August Strindberg play and directed by Liv Ullmann, this chamber piece confines most of its action to a country house on a midsummer night. Jessica Chastain plays the title character opposite Colin Farrell as the valet John and Samantha Morton as the cook Kathleen, with conversations that move between the kitchen, corridors, and private rooms. The dialogue follows the original text’s power dynamics while allowing for the film’s Irish setting and visual detail.

Production design preserves the single location feel of the source while using close framing and practical lighting to create shifting spaces within the house. Costumes reflect class markers that become plot elements as characters trade status claims and vulnerabilities. The film keeps the play’s real time momentum and relies on performance blocking to signal changes in control.

‘Crimson Peak’ (2015)

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, this Gothic romance places Jessica Chastain as Lucille Sharpe within a story of inheritance, secrecy, and a decaying family estate. The cast includes Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver, and the narrative follows a young author who marries into the Sharpe family and relocates to a remote mansion where the past remains visible.

The production built the Allerdale Hall set as a full scale environment with working elevators, functioning fireplaces, and walls that bleed clay to visualize the house as a living presence. Practical effects, extensive period costumes, and carefully controlled color palettes define the look, while sound design uses floorboards, wind, and pipes to mark the building’s condition. The film blends romance and ghost story conventions through detailed art direction and in camera techniques.

‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’ (2017)

Directed by Niki Caro and based on Diane Ackerman’s nonfiction book, this historical drama recounts how Antonina and Jan Żabiński sheltered people within the Warsaw Zoo after the city’s occupation. Jessica Chastain portrays Antonina alongside Johan Heldenbergh as Jan, with scenes that depict animal care routines, covert movements, and the logistics of hiding families within cages, basements, and storage rooms.

The screenplay by Angela Workman draws on diaries, interviews, and wartime records to outline routes, code names, and the risks of inspections. Production filmed in locations that could replicate Warsaw streets and zoo facilities, and period vehicles, uniforms, and signage contribute to the reconstruction. The film shows methods used to obtain ration cards and medical assistance while maintaining the cover of routine animal transport.

‘Woman Walks Ahead’ (2017)

Directed by Susanna White from a screenplay by Steven Knight, this biographical drama follows New York artist Catherine Weldon as she travels to the Dakota Territory to paint Sitting Bull and becomes involved in Lakota land rights efforts. Jessica Chastain plays Weldon with Michael Greyeyes as Sitting Bull and Sam Rockwell as a United States Army officer who oversees reservation policy.

The film draws on historical accounts to depict correspondence, train travel, and the challenges of translating political demands into petitions and meetings. Costumes, beadwork, and set construction reference museum collections and photographs to represent clothing and interiors of the period. Location photography uses wide plains and reservation structures to situate the negotiations and community life.

‘The Debt’ (2010)

John Madden directs this English language remake of the Israeli film ‘Ha Hov’, intercutting between covert operations in East Berlin and later consequences in Tel Aviv and Europe. Jessica Chastain plays young Mossad operative Rachel Singer while Helen Mirren portrays the older Rachel, with Sam Worthington, Ciarán Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Marton Csokas, and Jesper Christensen rounding out the ensemble.

The plot centers on a mission to capture a Nazi war criminal known as Dieter Vogel and then manage the fallout from an unexpected turn. Production stages period safe houses, clinics, and border checkpoints and uses split timelines to reveal withheld information. Makeup and hair design align the younger and older actors to maintain continuity between decades, and the script tracks cover stories, press conferences, and internal debriefs.

‘Take Shelter’ (2011)

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, this drama follows a construction worker who experiences alarming visions and begins expanding a backyard shelter, which strains his marriage and work relationships. Jessica Chastain plays Samantha, whose responsibilities include household finances, child care, and coordination of medical appointments for their daughter. Michael Shannon stars as Curtis, and the film places the family within a tight knit Midwestern community.

Location shooting in Ohio provides open skies, fields, and small town infrastructure that support the story’s weather imagery and community routines. Practical storm effects and controlled soundscapes build tension around thunder, wind, and sirens. The film screened at major festivals and brought attention to Nichols and the collaborators he would continue to work with on later projects.

‘Texas Killing Fields’ (2011)

Directed by Ami Canaan Mann and inspired by real investigations linked to a stretch of marshland along the Gulf Coast, this crime drama follows detectives working overlapping jurisdictions. Jessica Chastain appears as Detective Pam Stall, who coordinates with teams played by Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan while searching for a serial predator. The narrative weaves current cases with prior disappearances and local witness accounts.

The film incorporates roadside refineries, bayous, and abandoned lots to map the geography associated with multiple victims. Production emphasizes procedural elements such as phone records, evidence tagging, and interagency cooperation. The project was produced with the involvement of Michael Mann, and the shooting schedule focused on humid climates that match the real locations’ weather patterns.

‘Lawless’ (2012)

Directed by John Hillcoat from a screenplay by Nick Cave, this Prohibition era crime story adapts the historical novel ‘The Wettest County in the World’ by Matt Bondurant. Jessica Chastain plays Maggie, a woman who takes work at a rural roadhouse and becomes part of the Bondurant family’s orbit. The ensemble includes Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Mia Wasikowska, and Gary Oldman, and the plot follows conflict between local liquor producers and outside lawmen.

Production design builds roadhouses, still sites, and courthouse interiors with period signage and vehicles that reflect regional trade routes. The film uses Appalachian music traditions and string driven cues that tie scenes to the setting. Wardrobe choices mark class and occupation through boots, hats, and work coats, and stunt coordination supports sequences involving back roads and improvised transport.

‘The Good Nurse’ (2022)

Directed by Tobias Lindholm and based on the nonfiction book by Charles Graeber, this hospital drama recounts the investigation that led to the arrest of nurse Charles Cullen. Jessica Chastain plays Amy Loughren, who cooperates with detectives and records incriminating conversations while continuing overnight shifts. Eddie Redmayne portrays Cullen, and the cast includes Nnamdi Asomugha, Noah Emmerich, and Kim Dickens.

The production recreates electronic medical record systems, staffing patterns, and medication dispensing procedures to explain how dosage logs and transfer paperwork obscured accountability. The film documents the collaboration between hospital staff and law enforcement, including the use of confidential meetings and audio evidence. Netflix handled release after a limited theatrical rollout, and the story draws directly from interviews and case files.

Share which Jessica Chastain films you think more people should discover in the comments.