Lawrence made her film debut in the 2008 drama film Garden Party, in which she played a troubled teenager named Tiff. She then appeared in director Guillermo Arriaga's feature film debut The Burning Plain (2008), a drama narrated in a hyperlink format. She was cast as the teenage daughter of Kim Basinger's character, who discovers her mother's extramarital affair. She shared the role with Charlize Theron, who played the older version of her character. Mark Feeney of The Boston Globe described her role as "a thankless task", but Derek Elley of Variety praised her as the production's prime asset. Her performance earned her the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Emerging Actress at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. The same year, she appeared in the music video for the song "The Mess I Made" by Parachute. In 2008, she starred in Lori Petty's drama The Poker House as the oldest of three sisters living with a drug-abusing mother. Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter opined that Lawrence "has a touching poise on camera that conveys the resilience of children". She won an Outstanding Performance Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival for her performance in the film.
