Jolene will sneak up on you. What starts as a strange film, with hammy performances that seem to verge on parody, becomes a provocative and devastating viewing experience. With a career making turn for Jessica Chastain and a stunning supporting cast, the film is a modern epic, chronicling ten years in the early adult life of an orphan. To say the film delivers is an understatement and to say it’s anything less than a staggering achievement would be a bald-faced lie.
Based on the story by E.L. Doctorow, Dan Ireland’s picture follows Jolene (Chastain) through incredibly distinct chapters in her maturation. When the end credits roll, one feels they’ve seen a series of mini-movies, wholly separate from one another, instead of one continuous story. While this structure could ruin most projects, Jolene rises to the occasion with the strength of its central character and the clear precision of the storytelling.
Jolene is a teenager married to the utterly pathetic Mickey (played by Zeb Bewnab, the film’s only bad performance). They move in with his relatives, and it isn’t long before Uncle Phil (Dermot Mulroney) goes Lolita on the sexy young redhead. An angry Aunt and the law finally catch up, leaving Jolene institutionalized. A lesbian affair and fast escape lead to some sexual favors that get her a ride West. Serving burgers in the desert, she’s wooed by tattoo artist and punk musician Coco, played by the scintillating Rupert Friend, whose career has deservedly soared. Another chapter finds her plucked from the pole dancing stage by a rich, charming Chazz Palminteri, and finally married to a Tulsa millionaire (Michael Vartan). The ending is too incredible to divulge and will melt even the most cynical heart.
Dan Ireland has crafted a phenomenal picture that is as good as its leading lady. Her transformation is breathtaking, from a naïve teenager who marries too young, to a punk artist, erotic pole dancer, and finally…well, what she becomes. It’s a performance that easily ranks among the best of recent years and intoxicates with its patience. Chastain dares to look stupid, unconcerned with the obvious weakness of her character at moments, unwilling to show anything but the pure truth of Jolene built gradually through her journey. She is as convincing as a teenager as she is at the movie’s end, ten years later. Hollywood needs more talent of her caliber.
Denise Richards throws in a nice cameo short enough for even her to convince that she’s up to the quality of the film. One small role worth noting, however, is undoubtedly Frances Fisher’s role as the lesbian mental asylum warden, Cindy. An incredible actress who mesmerized with her performance as the head hooker in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, her ten minutes in the film constitutes the shortest chapter with some of the most punch. The arc she builds in such a short time makes her role resonate long after the movie has left her and the asylum behind.
How such a brilliant movie came and went so quietly is an unfortunate indictment of the current climate. The old cliché that Hollywood churns out sequels, prequels, and unimaginative movies that cost a fortune, while indies valiantly hold the line to tell meaningful stories has never seemed to have greater affirmation than right now. The theaters are packed with the fourth of this and the reboot of that, while people complain there’s nothing worth seeing. This is not and has never been the truth. The truth is that people are looking in the wrong places. Instead of paying $12.50 for a movie you know will disappoint you, pick up Jolene. It’s not an easy film, but it’s worth every emotion. And maybe, just maybe, by paying for a quality product, you’ll convince the bean counters to leave sequels behind and return to the Golden Age of Story.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Beyond the usual, there is a nice selection of interviews to wade through. The Blooper Reel isn’t worth the time. Most of it comes from one scene with the film’s most unlikable character and his flubs don’t warrant a smile. The director’s scene specific commentary is fascinating, which tends to be the case when the captain truly loves his or her vessel. And with the pride for his product and respect for his material, Dan Ireland makes an impressive film even better.
"Jolene" is on sale April 26, 2011 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Dan Ireland. Written by Dennis Yares & Michael Gilio. Starring Chazz Palminteri, Denise Richards, Dermot Mulroney, Frances Fisher, Jessica Chastain, Rory Cochrane.
