American actress Jena Malone has had a successful career in movies and television. With her career beginning at age 11, Jena Malone is also one of Hollywood’s most successful child actors. Over the years, the talented actress has also ventured into music.
Throughout her acting career, Jena Malone has earned a reputation for portraying teenage girls from dysfunctional families or with personal problems. However, this has not typecast Nevada-born actress in any way. Although she’s yet to get a nod from the Academy, here are the 6 best Jena Malone movies of her career.
Stepmom
In the 1998 drama Stepmom, Jena Malone played the daughter of Susan Sarandon’s character. Co-starring alongside Julia Roberts and Ed Harris, Malone’s character was Anna Harrison. Set in New York, Stepmom follows a couple’s divorce and the aftermath of their father’s new relationship with a younger woman.
Malone’s character, the oldest of the two children, initially struggles to accept the divorce and her father’s new romantic partner. When they finally find common ground, Anna’s mother, who later becomes terminally ill from lymphoma, refuses to accept being replaced by a stepmother. Although the movie received mixed reviews, Stepmother was a commercial success. It grossed $159.7 million on a $50 million budget.
Saved!
Jena Malone led the cast of the 2004 independent, satirical black comedy Saved! A then 19-year-old Malone played Mary Cummings, a teen student at a Christian High School. After her boyfriend confesses he’s gay, Mary’s epiphany leads her to lose her virginity to him, hoping to restore his homosexuality. Their only sexual encounter led to a pregnancy she tried to hide from everyone. However, she gets ostracized by her peers after they find out she lost her virginity. Saved! also starred Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Eva Amurri, Mary-Louise Parker, and Martin Donovan.
The Book of Stars
The Book of Stars is one of Jena Malone’s earliest movie credits, which flew under the radar and went relatively unnoticed by most movie audiences. Directed by Michael Miner from a screenplay by Tasca Shadix, The Book of Stars had Malone play Mary, a 15-year-old with cystic fibrosis. Mary lives with her older sister, Penny (Mary Stuart Masterson), the only surviving family she has. Together, they support each other through life’s unending battles and struggles. Released in 1999, The Book of Stars holds a 78% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Watch The Book of Stars on Tubi
Bastard Out of Carolina
Jena Malone’s film debut was Anjelica Huston’s 1996 drama Bastard Out of Carolina. At only 11 years old, when the movie was released, Jena Malone starred as Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright, an illegitimate child born out of wedlock. Bastard Out of Carolina was one of the emotionally wrenching movies of the mid-90s as audiences watched Bone’s mother, Anney Boatwright (Jennifer Jason Leigh), choose her husband, Glen Waddell (Ron Eldard), over her own daughter. For a film debut and at such a young age, Jena Malone’s performance received praise. Bastard Out of Carolina still holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Lovesong
Lovesong is one of Jena Malone’s top-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by So Yong Kim from a screenplay she co-wrote, Malone was cast in a co-lead role as Mindy. Like its name, Lovesong is a story of unrequited love between two friends. The movie starts with Sarah (Riley Keough), a mother of one, who feels neglected by her husband’s absence because of work. Sarah invites her best friend Mindy, whom she hasn’t seen in years.
Mindy is single and free-spirited, a life Sarah admires. Alone and in the throes of passion, Sarah and Mindy are physically intimate. Mindy soon leaves abruptly when she discovers Sarah treats their night together nonchalantly. Years later, Mindy invites Sarah to her wedding. Although Sarah, now divorced, initially feels out of place, Mindy visits Sarah uninvited in her hotel room, where they reconnect. The movie ends with both finally revealing their love for each other, but Mindy proceeds with her wedding.
The Hunger Games Movies
Although a more prominent character from the novels, Jena Malone’s Johanna Mason was introduced in a supporting role with shorter screen time in The Hunger Games movies. Malone joined the film series in its second installment, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). The character, Johanna Mason, was the victor of the 71st Hunger Games but was reintroduced into the 75th Hunger Games as a tribute.
Jena Malone reprised the role in a cameo appearance in the 2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and a supporting role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. The Hunger Games movies have been Jena Malone’s biggest projects on the big screen. If you enjoyed reading about Jena Malone’s best movies, check out Michael Emerson’s top TV shows.
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