The 10 Most Underrated Jennifer Connelly Movies, Ranked (from Least to Most Underrated)

Across a career that began in the early 1980s, Jennifer Connelly has worked with directors such as Dario Argento, Jim Henson, Alex Proyas, Ang Lee, Edward Zwick, Robert Zemeckis, and Joseph Kosinski. She’s played leads and pivotal supporting roles in drama, fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, and historical epics, earning major awards recognition and recurring collaborations with filmmakers including Darren Aronofsky and her husband, Paul Bettany.

This countdown gathers ten projects that didn’t always dominate the conversation around her filmography but showcase the range of her work—from early European genre cinema to modern large-scale productions. For each title, you’ll find concise production context, plot essentials, key collaborators, and other concrete details that place the film in her body of work.

‘Aloft’ (2014)

The drama follows a falconer and single mother whose choices separate her from her young son; decades later, a documentarian brings the adult son to seek out the now-reclusive woman known for unconventional healing. Jennifer Connelly plays the mother, Nana Kunning, opposite Cillian Murphy as the son and Mélanie Laurent as the filmmaker, with Claudia Llosa directing from her original screenplay and filming across Manitoba and Madrid.

The production premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival and was released in North America by Sony Pictures Classics. The film’s visual design emphasizes frozen landscapes and long takes; cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc shot on location in sub-zero conditions, and the narrative structure alternates between past and present timelines to connect the family’s fracture with later encounters.

‘American Pastoral’ (2016)

Adapted from Philip Roth’s novel, the film centers on a New Jersey businessman whose daughter becomes involved with radical politics during the Vietnam War era. Ewan McGregor directs and stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, with Jennifer Connelly as Dawn Levov, a former pageant winner whose struggles intensify as the family faces social upheaval; Dakota Fanning co-stars as their daughter, Merry.

Principal photography took place in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas to stand in for mid-century New Jersey, with production design recreating period factories, suburban homes, and protest scenes. The screenplay by John Romano retains the framing device involving a writer’s recollection of the Levov family, and the costume department tracks the shift from 1950s silhouettes to late-1960s styles to underline the story’s time span.

‘Waking the Dead’ (2000)

Set across two periods, the story follows an aspiring politician haunted by the memory of his late partner, an activist who died in a car bombing. Jennifer Connelly portrays Sarah Williams, appearing in both flashbacks and the protagonist’s subjective visions, alongside Billy Crudup as Fielding Pierce; Keith Gordon directs from a script adapted by Robert Dillon based on Scott Spencer’s novel.

The production was shot in Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, and Montreal to capture the Midwestern setting and winter atmosphere. Music by Tomandandy supports the film’s oscillation between romance and political drama, while editing weaves present-day campaign sequences with earlier college-age activism, emphasizing how public ambitions and private loss intersect in the lead character’s life.

‘Phenomena’ (1985)

In this Italian–Swiss production by Dario Argento, a boarding-school student discovers she can telepathically communicate with insects, a trait that helps track a serial killer in the surrounding countryside. Jennifer Connelly plays Jennifer Corvino in one of her earliest leading roles, co-starring with Donald Pleasence as an entomologist; the film is known in some territories under the alternate title ‘Creepers’ due to edited cuts.

Shot around Rome and the Swiss Alps, the movie combines giallo elements with supernatural fantasy and features practical creature work and macro photography of insects. The soundtrack mixes original music by Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti with metal tracks by bands such as Iron Maiden and Motörhead, while multiple versions exist with differing runtimes, reflecting regional distribution choices during the 1980s.

‘The Rocketeer’ (1991)

Based on Dave Stevens’s comic, the story follows a 1930s stunt pilot who discovers a prototype rocket pack coveted by gangsters and a Nazi spy masquerading as a Hollywood star. Jennifer Connelly plays aspiring actress Jenny Blake, with Billy Campbell as Cliff Secord and Timothy Dalton as matinee idol Neville Sinclair; Joe Johnston directs, bringing his period-adventure sensibility to the art-deco aesthetic.

Filming took place in California, employing full-scale sets for the South Seas Club and the Bulldog Café, along with wire-work and miniatures for flight sequences. The production design integrates references to Golden Age Hollywood, while James Horner’s orchestral score supports the film’s serial-inspired tone; the movie later influenced period costuming and aviation-prop replicas among fans of retro-futurist design.

‘Alita: Battle Angel’ (2019)

Adapted from Yukito Kishiro’s manga, the film depicts a cyborg girl rebuilt from scrap who searches for her past in a stratified future metropolis. Directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced and co-written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis, the cast includes Rosa Salazar via performance capture as Alita, with Jennifer Connelly as Dr. Chiren, a scientist linked to both the protagonist and cybernetic underworld.

The production combined live-action photography with extensive CGI from Weta Digital, using large-format cameras and a facial performance system tailored to Alita’s stylized features. Sets for Iron City were constructed at Troublemaker Studios in Austin, while action sequences such as Motorball blended practical stunts with virtual environments; Dolby Vision and 3D releases highlighted the film’s high-dynamic-range effects work.

‘Labyrinth’ (1986)

Jim Henson’s fantasy follows a teenager who must navigate a magical maze to rescue her baby brother from the Goblin King. Jennifer Connelly stars as Sarah, acting opposite David Bowie, whose role as Jareth includes original musical numbers; the film’s script originated with Dennis Lee’s poems and was further developed by Terry Jones, with George Lucas serving as executive producer.

The project showcased Henson’s Creature Shop through elaborate animatronics and puppetry—Hoggle, Ludo, and the Fireys among them—while filming took place at Elstree Studios. Production employed forced-perspective sets for the Escher-inspired stair sequence and integrated Bowie’s songs into story beats; over time, the film’s designs, costumes, and choreography have been documented in exhibitions and behind-the-scenes materials.

‘Only the Brave’ (2017)

Based on true events, the film chronicles the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a firefighting team that confronted the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, it stars Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, and Jeff Bridges, with Jennifer Connelly portraying Amanda Marsh, whose home-front perspective intersects with the unit’s training and deployments; the screenplay by Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer adapts investigative reporting.

Principal photography used New Mexico locations to simulate Arizona terrain, working with wildfire consultants and employing controlled burns, practical smoke, and aerial footage for realism. The production design recreated fire shelters, gear, and crew buggies, while sound teams layered field recordings of wind and flame; end titles include photographs of the real firefighters, aligning the dramatization with documented details.

‘Dark City’ (1998)

In this neo-noir science-fiction story, an amnesiac awakens in a city where reality is manipulated nightly by mysterious beings who can “tune” physical space. Directed by Alex Proyas, the film stars Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jennifer Connelly as Emma, a lounge singer connected to the protagonist’s fragmented past; the narrative explores memory, architecture, and imposed identities.

The production built large indoor cityscapes at Fox Studios Australia to achieve perpetual night and expressionist angles, with production designer Patrick Tatopoulos crafting the Strangers’ bio-mechanical aesthetic. A later director’s cut adjusted voice-over and scene order, while visual effects combined miniatures, motion-control photography, and early digital compositing to depict the city’s transformations during tuning sequences.

‘Blood Diamond’ (2006)

Set during Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s, the film follows a fisherman forced into diamond mining, a smuggler who sees a chance at profit, and a journalist investigating the conflict-diamond trade. Directed by Edward Zwick, it stars Djimon Hounsou and Leonardo DiCaprio, with Jennifer Connelly as Maddy Bowen, an American reporter whose fieldwork and sources illuminate supply chains and militia financing.

Filmed in Mozambique, South Africa, and Sierra Leone-adjacent locations, the production utilized on-the-ground logistics for convoy scenes and displaced-persons camps, coordinating with regional crews and security advisors. The movie’s release coincided with broader public discussion of certification regimes and industry practices, and its costume, language coaching, and weapons wrangling teams worked to reflect regional uniforms, dialects, and period-accurate equipment.

Share your picks for overlooked Jennifer Connelly performances in the comments and let us know which titles you’d add to the list!