The 10 best Jennifer Lawrence movies, definitively ranked (including 'Causeway')

From blue Marvel mutant to dystopian action heroine, we've seen all different sides of Jennifer Lawrence over the years. Though there's only one movie where J. Law danced into our hearts.

The Oscar-winning actress has built her career starring in franchise vehicles as well as smaller dramatic indie fare – and her newest is definitely in the latter bucket. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, "Causeway" (streaming Friday on Apple TV+) casts Lawrence as an injured military engineer who returns home to New Orleans to recover and struggles to figure out the next steps of her life.

Here are Lawrence's 10 best films, definitively ranked:

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10. 'Joy' (2015)

Not the best of Lawrence's frequent collaborations with director David O. Russell, but a noteworthy performance from its lead actress. Lawrence plays real-life self-made millionaire mom Joy Mangano, whose Miracle Mop became a QVC hit in the 1990s, in the story of one woman’s persistent quest to make something of herself.

9. 'Red Sparrow' (2018)

In this Cold War spy yarn, Lawrence stars as a top Russian ballerina in the Bolshoi Ballet who, after her career is derailed by a horrific injury, is recruited to join a secret school where young men and women are trained to use their sexual wiles for espionage purposes – and discovers a physical power she'd never had before.

8. 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' (2013)

The best "Games" was the action-packed second installment. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) – a symbol for the rising tide of rebellion – and partner Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are on a victory tour after their first win in the deadly tournament but get thrown back into the fray (with blood rain and poisonous fog).

7. 'American Hustle' (2013)

A fictionalized take on the 1970s Abscam financial fraud case, Russell's ensemble drama is a starry affair with Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Bradley Cooper. But Lawrence is the highlight as the fiery, scheming wife of Christian Bale's paunchy con man whose unpredictability threatens the whole criminal operation.

6. 'Don’t Look Up' (2021)

Adam McKay's A-list end-of-the-world satire casts Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as astronomers trying to warn the world of the comet headed our way, though no one's in the mood to listen. Lawrence is a hoot as the increasingly exasperated scientist irritated when her partner becomes a nerdy pop-culture phenom.

5. 'mother!' (2017)

In Darren Aronofsky's bizarre and polarizing horror show, Lawrence is game for all that unfolds as a young mom fixing up a rural estate with her older husband (Javier Bardem). Houseguests from hell and religious symbolism aplenty lead to a dizzying array of sex, violence, death, destruction and sacrifice.

4. 'X-Men: First Class' (2011)

Lawrence starred in a bunch of mediocre X-Men movies. However, Matthew Vaughn's groovy, '60s-set superhero adventure was an enjoyable and well-made franchise starter and an introduction to Lawrence's Mystique, a shapeshifter who has to help stave off World War II but is also torn in her moral beliefs about humanity vs. mutantkind.

3. 'Causeway' (2022)

As Lynsey, a soldier dealing with a traumatic brain injury she suffered in Afghanistan, Lawrence quietly dazzles in the intimate drama. Back home in New Orleans, Lynsey yearns to get medically cleared and be redeployed but her friendship with a kind mechanic (Brian Tyree Henry) gives her essential perspective.

2. 'Winter’s Bone' (2010)

Lawrence's tour de force breakthrough – and her first Oscar nomination – came in this haunting mystery thriller. When her meth-head father goes missing, fearless Ozark teen Ree Dolly (Lawrence) tries to keep her family safe and with a roof over their heads while also dealing with a local crime boss and navigating her community's code of silence.

1. 'Silver Linings Playbook' (2012)

Russell's romantic dramedy – which garnered Lawrence a best actress Academy Award – is a fantastic exploration of mental health, football fandom and dance contests. What makes it soar, though, is the winning dynamic between Lawrence's feisty widow Tiffany and Cooper's bipolar, Eagles-loving Pat, who make a deal to enter a dance competition and sparks fly as an unlikely bond forms. If you're not rooting for these two by the time they hit the ballroom floor, you might not have a soul.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Causeway' on Apple TV+: Jennifer Lawrence's 10 best movies, ranked