The 10 Best Chloë Sevigny Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Making the leap from indie films to blockbusters throughout her tremendous career, Chloë Sevigny has been a consistent star for nearly three decades. With a range of roles that has taken her from a heroin chic club kid, to a girl next door, and everything in between, Sevigny often flexes her unique talents on screen.

Whether its chilling mysteries like Zodiac, or touching dramas like Boys Don’t Cry, Sevingy has shown time and time again that she is the right actor for any job. Despite a career of great films, some of her works have garnered a higher score on Rotten Tomatoes.

10 The True Adventures Of Wolfboy (2019) – 78%

Despite its weird premise and outlandish title, The True Adventures of Wolfboy is an adventure story with a lot of heart. Paul is a young boy with a rare disorder that causes excessive hair growth on his face and body. On the eve of his thirteenth birthday, Paul decides to run away from home to find the mother that abandoned him.

Tackling its subject matter with a lot of class, Wolfboy draws parallels between other groups who exist on the fringes of society. Appearing as Jen, Paul’s mother, Sevigny plays a role that shows her evolution as a performer. Never overshadowing her younger counterpart, Sevigny manages to be both relatable and reprehensible as she explains her motivations.

9 Trees Lounge (1996) – 81%

Starring Steve Buscemi in one of his forgotten performances, Trees Lounge is a hilarious character study about motivation. Tommy is a down and out mechanic who spends all of his free time in a bar called Trees Lounge. Despite his desire for a better life, Tommy can’t ever seem to stop drinking.

Sardonic and strange, the Buscemi penned dramedy featured a wide cast of characters that float in and out of Tommy’s life. Sevigny co-stars as one of the more memorable characters in the film, Debby, a young woman who always hangs around Tommy. The part works best for her because she was still in the early phase of her career where she had a knack for playing mischievous and off-the-wall characters.

8 Queen & Slim (2019) – 83%

Not shying away from hot button political issues, Queen & Slim is a movie that plays out like a story ripped from modern headlines. A disappointing first date goes awry when an African American couple is stopped without cause by police. A misunderstanding leads to a cop being shot and the two young people go on the lam.

Seamlessly flowing from moment to moment, Queen & Slim‘s intensity slowly builds throughout the film. Playing a relatively small role, Sevigny appears as Mrs. Shepard, the wife of a man who takes the couple in for a short time. Though the part doesn’t give her a lot to do, she plays the role with a fair amount of realism despite the over-the-top events going on around her.

7 Broken Flowers (2005) – 87%

Generally considered one of Jim Jarmusch’s best films, Broken Flowers is a touching character portrait of fading masculinity. Don’s illusions are broken after his latest relationship ends in disaster, suddenly an anonymous letter arrives and informs him that he has an adult son. Determined to find him, Don embarks on a journey to reconnect with many of his past lovers.

Bill Murray is phenomenal as the fading Don Juan-esq character, and he bounds from one fascinating interaction to another. Chloë Sevigny appears briefly as an assistant to Carmen, one of Don’s ex-lovers who writes books on animal psychiatry. Though she is only in the film for a few moments, Sevigny imparts wisdom to Don which helps him on his journey.

6 Zodiac (2007) – 89%

In one of the most shocking films about true crime, Zodiac re-captured a terrifying moment from history. A cartoonist finds himself embroiled in a mystery as he begins to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Zodiac killings in San Francisco in the 1970s.

Graysmith’s life begins to fall apart as he gets wrapped up in the case and Sevigny’s role as Melanie puts her in direct confrontation with her on-screen husband. Tired of watching him tear his life apart, Sevigny is a portrait of conflicting emotion, and she gives the smaller part the richness it deserves.

5 Boys Don’t Cry (1999) – 89%

Boys Don’t Cry was one of the most prescient LGBTQ movies of all time, and is still an emotional powerhouse decades later. A young transgender man attempts to navigate his life, and loves in a rural Nebraska town that isn’t accepting of him.

Playing off of her co-star Hillary Swank to perfection, Sevigny’s turn as Lana is one of the strongest parts of the film. Coming from a place of love, Lana still grapples with her understanding of the man that she is falling for. While there are aspects of the film that are a product of its time, the performances are still top notch.

4 Lean On Pete (2017) – 89%

Coming as one of the darkest and best horse movies of all time, Lean on Pete is a unique take on the genre. Charlie is a young man whose life is in constant flux because of his father’s job. While living in Portland, Charlie takes a job at a horse stable and forms a relationship with an aged race horse named Lean On Pete.

Adding a fair amount of drama to its tale of animal companionship, Lean On Pete is a richer story than is usually told about horses. Chloë Sevigny plays Bonnie, a jockey who also used to work closely with Lean On Pete before he got too old to race. Torn between her sympathy for Charlie and her acceptance of the way life is, Sevigny does an excellent job at showing the conflicted nature of her character.

3 Slow Machine (2020) – 91%

Sometimes the simplest plots make for some of the most interesting stories, and that was certainly true in Slow Machine. After her previous relationship goes sour, a woman decides to crash at the house of a band that is in the middle of recording their next album.

Relying heavily on its dialogue, Slow Machine is very much that, a slowly paced and methodical film. Despite this tempo, the characters are riveting and the viewer finds themselves invested in what happens. Chloë Sevigny plays an exaggerated version of herself in the film, and she adds a bit of prickly flair to her usual personality.

2 Shattered Glass (2003) – 92%

Some stories are so shocking that they are difficult to believe, and Shattered Glass focused on a true tale that had Americans questioning their faith in journalism. Stephen Glass is a hotshot young writer for a Washington D.C magazine who comes under fire when it is revealed that a majority of his stories were entirely fabricated.

Drawing from the recent past, Shattered Glass was a real life story that slipped under the radar of most viewers as it was happening. Sevigny plays one of Glass’ colleagues, Caitlin, who is one of the few people who comes to his defense. Her dynamic with Glass is one of the strongest aspects of the film, and their symbiotic relationship is an emotional anchor for the story.

1 Love & Friendship (2016) – 96%

Once again working with longtime collaborator Whit Stillman, Chloë Sevigny got the rare opportunity to star in a period piece. Set in the 1700s, Love & Friendship is the story of Lady Vernon who decides to holiday in the country to get away from salacious rumors about her conduct. While there, she casts herself as matchmaker to her reluctant daughter, and for herself.

Based on the Jane Austen novel Lady Susan, Stillman’s adaptation gives a fair amount of modernity to the aged tale. Sevigny plays Alicia, a woman whose modesty almost gets in the way of her friendship with Susan. The pair of Beckinsale and Sevigny once again shine, just as they did in the previous Stillman film The Last Days of Disco.

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