Miss Sloane Review
Jessica Chastain is the woman. She’s had quite a career these last few years, and no matter what role she plays, she always brings a strong presence and gives an equally strong performance. Now she brings her A-game to Miss Sloane, a story about lobbyists in DC both advocating and opposing changes to the 2nd Amendment. To sum it up, this movie really works for the first two thirds, but falls apart in the third act. That still makes for a movie I liked, but if the third act was better, it could have been a contender for one of the best films of the year.
So yes, Chastain plays Elizabeth Sloane, the most feared lobbyist in DC. At first she is on the side of opposing changes to the 2nd Amendment, but after a new battle plan from a high-profile Senator and a quick word from the enemy comes her way, she switches sides, taking most of her crew with her. The story then follows the highs and lows of trying to get a bill passed in the senate that would make background checks universal for all gun carriers. The majority of the film is spent on the topic, and it feels very much like a House of Cards (2013-present) episode stretched into a two hour ten minute movie, but we get a bit of background on Liz including a male gigolo subplot and a personal relationship with a key member of her staff. However, things go to hell after said staff member is nearly killed by a fanatic, but saved by someone who was concealing a weapon, exactly what Sloane is fighting against. Then her past is called into question, where she used unlawful tactics to get previous bills passed. So it’s Liz vs. the world as everything crumbles around her.
So the biggest strengths of the film are the actors and their performances. Chastain dominates the film with perhaps her strongest performance yet. Also very strong is Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Esme, the staff member almost killed. It’s always great to see Mark Strong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sam Waterston, and John Lithgow in their supporting roles, but of those four Stuhlbarg stands out as the bad-tempered opponent and former teammate of Sloane. Allison Pill and Jake Lacy also appear in the film in diminished roles that basically are there the bare minimum, and not to get into negatives already, but they feel like characters that had a few key scenes cut. Also the screenplay by Jonathan Perera has some strong dialogue which might be a bit over-exaggerated at times, but makes the characters feel like real people who work behind the scenes. Plus director John Madden, who’s more an actor’s director than ever here, always knows the right touch with the ensemble. And again the first two acts are very entertaining and feature some of the stronger elements of both Chastain and Stuhlbarg’s work here.
Now for that third act, well, there’s this big dizzying climactic twist that just felt beyond unbelievable. Plus the film is just too long. If they had cut out a bit of meat here and there with a few characters, and say the film was an hour fifty-five or so, I think it would have been better. But twenty minutes might feel immaterial to some, but when your third act is self-destructing, it makes the film feel even longer. Also it was disappointing to have two strong acts leading up to this boring, over-long, and at the end ridiculous conclusion. Well, actually, the last two minutes turned around and returned to the level of strength the first two acts did, but that’s a little late. Also we get a strong sense of what Liz Sloane is capable of, but with one exception, we don’t really get a ton of insight into who she is as a person. Sure, her subplot with Lacy’s gigolo character gives a little hint at her personal life, but that’s a fact that would be on the back of her baseball card if she had one. With a character piece like this one I’d like a bit more than that.
Anyways, this is one where maybe you sit down and watch it and are bored the whole time or maybe you feel the whole thing works. This is a case where every other opinion I hear on the film is it’s good all the way through but then I’ll hear the whole thing stinks. Hmm, I guess there’s no general consensus on this one, so here’s mine: Chastain is beyond excellent in the titular role, the writing is very good, the direction is just fine, but the third act goes in a tailspin and it overstays its welcome as far as the runtime is concerned. So I guess overall you can say I liked it quite a bit, and for sure if you’re a fan of House of Cards or very involved with the topic of discussion in the film, this is one you’ll probably enjoy.
My rating: 8/10.
