Jessica Chastain stars in Netflix thriller Heartland, a Nashville search for a missing singer

Netflix's Heartland, a nearly two-hour thriller written and directed by Shana Feste, stars Jessica Chastain as Misty Jones, a former country singer who returns to Nashville to find her missing niece, Charlie Heart, a rising country star played by Carter Faith. Charlie's father asks his sister Misty to look for her after police and the singer's handlers chalk up the disappearance to a pop diva's bad behavior, and Misty takes matters into her own hands when no one else searches. The story involves shady men who prey on rising starlets and corruption across the music business, shot with a neo-noir look and a few fight scenes. Critics differ on how well it works, with its mystery described as generic and its premise as silly but pulpy.

Right-leaning coverage, from the New York Post, is a streaming guide: its headline promises an explanation of the ending, and the excerpt sits within a roundup of other streaming titles, with no plot summary or verdict. Left-leaning coverage, from The Guardian, leads with a verdict that the film is more miss than hit, calling its Nashville mystery overly generic and describing its lead, Misty Jones, as unlikable. Alternative coverage, from The A.V. Club, leads with pulpy, Taken-style energy, praising the neo-noir look and Chastain's performance while calling the premise silly. Left and alternative reviews both note the neo-noir approach but split on whether it works.