Deep in the heart of Nashville, a mystery is brewing. One of country music’s rising stars, Charlie Heart (Carter Faith), has gone missing. While the police and her handlers chalk it up to a pop diva’s bad behavior, her father turns to his sister, Charlie’s aunt and fellow country singer Misty Jones (Jessica Chastain), to see what she can “kick up” down in Nashville. Reluctantly, she returns to the town that broke her heart to look for her niece, taking matters into her own hands when no one else comes looking for Charlie. The premise of Heartland, the latest film from Country Strong‘s Shana Feste, is admittedly silly, but the film leans into its pulpy crime drama roots, its danger, and the mystery these characters find themselves in.
The capital of country music is given a Taken-like makeover in Heartland, where shady men prey on rising starlets, no part of the business is safe from corruption, and its tough-as-nails heroine becomes a Liam Neeson-esque figure on a rescue mission. Although there’s nowhere near enough fight scenes to make this an action movie, the mystery of Charlie’s disappearance still comes with a few fisticuffs, bullets, and acts of vandalism. Feste and cinematographer Khalid Mohtaseb give the bright lights of the clubs and festival stages a neo-noir sheen, in which characters exchange tough talk on the way to a performance or talk show, where they switch from threats to smiles for the cameras. Like a Pam Grier-coded heroine in cowboy boots, Misty becomes an independent investigator, pursuing her own brand of vigilante justice when the cops continue to fall short of their duties.
Feste has long had her eye on how the country music scene has treated the girls and young women it plucks out of obscurity, plunks onto a stage, launches them to the surreal heights of fame and money, then exploits them. In Country Strong, it was the industry that had worn down its main character. The industry pushed her into alcoholism as she struggled to maintain relevance in the face of young talent continuing to challenge her place in the business, while male executives claim she’s irrelevant. Misty is an extension of that character, burnt out by the pressure to perform and play nice after her husband cheated on her as the world watched. She’s labeled as “difficult,” accused of violent retribution (some of which is true, some now the stuff of legend), and sulked off the grid for a meager but quiet existence down on a farm in Georgia. She’s even given a little John Wick moment early on, shooting out the windows of a neighbor who’s killed her dog, which sets the stage for how little intimidation she’s going to take from the industry flacks who are trying to get her to disappear.
For Feste’s return to Nashville, she also brings back Country Strong star Garrett Hedlund as Roy Combs, country music bigwig. Although his character more or less runs the town through his connections, Hedlund plays the part in a subdued way, almost supportive to Misty to a fault. In fact, so is Heartland at large: Because this is set in Nashville, Misty is also a role that requires Chastain to sing. Those musical numbers are not her finest moments, but she at least does rise to the occasion as a solemn woman on a mission, where Misty faces the crooked world to rescue her niece. She often storms into a scene like a cat looking to fight, claws defensively out and ready to strike with a smart quip or—if the occasion calls for it—a bit of self-served justice, like when she slashes the tires of Charlie’s unhelpful and demeaning manager then turns around to flip the bird to a surveillance camera.
As serious as Heartland is trying to be, it doesn’t get so serious that it forgets to have a bit of fun in the process. This, after all, is a country-music mystery grappling with everything from K-pop-style country girl groups to sports gambling. Chastain relishes every dramatic entrance and chance to act out, and the treatment of women is very much on Feste’s mind. Her script addresses several real issues, like the exploitation of minors in show business and domestic abuse, between moments of Misty lashing out at uncaring or abusive men. For much of the runtime, the film moves like an airport thriller, breezing through its mystery to get to the next clue, giving the self-appointed detective the momentum she needs to solve this case before the plane lands. While Chastain can’t quite sell the part of a former country star, she can certainly play an entertaining woman scorned, tearing up Nashville looking for her niece, making Heartland strangely enjoyable despite its heavier topics.
Director: Shana Feste
Writer: Shana Feste
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Garrett Hedlund, John Hawkes, Jennifer Nettles, Carter Faith
Release Date: November 13, 2026 (Netflix)
Keep scrolling for more great stories.