Round Top Film Festival 2026
Jessica Chastain doesn’t hold much back in Heartland, the opening-night feature at the 2026 Round Top Film Festival. Written and directed by Shana Feste, the film follows a washed-up country singer who returns to Nashville after her niece disappears. Chastain is incredible, although I did find myself wondering whether Feste needed to make her character quite so hard-edged. We get it. She’s tough. She’s angry. She’s not taking any crap from anybody. There are moments when the performance feels a bit much, but Chastain is so good that I found myself invested in this difficult woman anyway.
The story itself didn’t surprise me nearly as much as I hoped it would. I had a pretty good idea early on where things were headed. Still, knowing—or at least suspecting—what’s coming doesn’t necessarily spoil a film. Feste manages to get us there in an interesting way, and that made a difference for me.
Chastain stars as Misty Jones, a former country music sensation whose fall from grace has left her bitter and angry. When her niece Charlie Heart (Carter Faith), an aspiring country singer, disappears, Misty heads back to Nashville and into the lives of people she’d just as soon forget. Finding Charlie means confronting old grudges, questionable relationships, and secrets buried beneath the glitter of Nashville’s music business. Misty isn’t particularly concerned about making friends along the way, and her determination to get answers creates more than a few uncomfortable encounters.
Garrett Hedlund plays Roy Combs, a music executive with ties to Misty’s past, while John Hawkes portrays Clark, another figure from her complicated history. Jennifer Nettles appears as Winnie Jo Lean, and Ross Lynch joins a solid supporting cast. The characters are interesting, their relationships complicated, and the performances work well together. Still, Chastain is clearly the main attraction. She commands attention even when Misty’s behavior becomes a little excessive. Beneath the attitude is a woman carrying considerable hurt, and Chastain gives us enough glimpses of that vulnerability to make her more than simply an angry woman on a mission.
Feste, who previously explored the country music world in Country Strong, takes a darker approach here. Nashville provides an interesting backdrop for a story filled with ambition, broken relationships, and people who have plenty to hide. The music fits naturally into the film, and Feste makes good use of the characters’ histories to complicate Misty’s search. There are some genuinely engaging exchanges, particularly when past relationships come into play.
Although I suspected where the story was heading fairly early, I enjoyed watching the pieces fall into place. Feste keeps things moving, and the developing relationships give the mystery enough substance to hold our interest. The eventual revelations may not come as a complete surprise, but the storytelling makes them satisfying nonetheless. A film doesn’t necessarily need to fool its audience to entertain it.
Heartland is a very good film, anchored by an outstanding performance from Chastain and supported by a capable cast. Feste delivers a compelling story that held my interest from beginning to end, despite my early suspicions about its outcome. Chastain occasionally pushes Misty’s toughness a bit too far, but there’s no denying her talent or her ability to carry a film. As the opening-night selection for the Round Top Film Festival, Heartland was an impressive start to the festivities. I may have seen where it was going, but I certainly enjoyed getting there. Catch it on Netflix.