Great performances drive political drama
Jessica Chastain as a Washington lobbyist gives title character a hard shield of polish and perfection
The reason to see Miss Sloane is Jessica Chastain, an actor apparently constitutionally incapable of giving a bad performance.
Chastain stars in this political drama as Elizabeth Sloane, a ruthless Washington lobbyist. She’s known for her nerves of steel and her determination to win at any cost. Dissembling, concealed bribes and obfuscatory paperwork are just a few of her skills.
Then Sloane is invited to represent a big firearms association in a fight against yet another new gun control law. It’s a big opportunity for her, but she’s not interested.
Turns out our iron lady does have a scruple or two. To the shock of her boss (Sam Waterston) she feels strongly enough about it all to actually leave her job, taking some of her colleagues with her. Sloane joins a smaller lobbying group that hopes to rally behind the tougher gun control bill.
On the lobby front, it’s David vs. Goliath.
The fun in Miss Sloane is watching Chastain operate in a political chess game. She runs circles around her new boss (Mark Strong) and terrifies most of her co-workers, crushing disloyalty in the ranks and taking advantage of the one woman (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) who is a true ally. It’s no longer about gun control. It’s about power.
On the personal side, we learn almost nothing about Sloane. She functions with the help of uppers and hires escorts for sex, never revealing anything of her true nature or who she is. Chastain gives the character a hard shield of polish and perfection — she is never surprised, dishevelled, spontaneous or unprepared, and only once or twice in the story does she display any emotion.
Who is she? It’s not for you to know.
There are some plot holes in Miss Sloane, to be sure, and the ending doesn’t exactly make sense, but the cast (including Alison Pill, John Lithgow, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jake Lacy) is so good that much is forgiven.
Chastain is absolutely fascinating in the role of Miss Sloane. Her compelling performance is well worth the price of admission.