Directed by:
John MaddenScreenplay:
Jonathan PereraCinematography:
Sebastian BlenkovComposer:
Max RichterCast:
Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Alison Pill, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jake Lacy, Sam Waterston, David Wilson Barnes, John Lithgow, Michael Stuhlbarg, Douglas Smith (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most sought-after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. Known equally for her cunning and her track record of success, she has always done whatever is required to win. But when she takes on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds that winning may come at too high a price. (Entertainment One)
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Reviews (10)
Is successful Jonathan Perera just a pen name of Aaron Sorkin or not? That's the question. Rather, it is not, because such a purely Sorkin script would not have been able to make even Sorkin himself, despite all the efforts. Machine-gun reciting dialogs, constant frenetic movement, ties and suits, fancy offices, characters serve purely as bearers of convictions / attitudes, actors from the Newsroom, behind the scenes and politicking with the high politics closely connected with the profession (in this case lobbying) and so on. Yes, this is an open-minded film (in the style of The Life of David Gale and his attitude toward the death sentence), but it's not a bad thing, not at all. It is captured in a sophisticated and emotional way. In addition, at its core it is a damn successful Heist movie, which follows all the rules of the genre. And even without a robbery as such. The more experienced viewer will undoubtedly see the final move through at the beginning (which does not detract from the impressive performance), but it´s not a bad thing, because it´s characterized with such an uncompromising goal-orientation, gradation (Max Richter has a lion´s share on it, as expected), the cool visuals and acting that it can be enjoyed on more levels than just “leftist lobbying for stricter arms purchase rules and cleaner policies".
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A typically cold corporate drama of high politics and lobbying. Unfortunately, it's filmed in a rather myopic and typically "cinematic" way, with a finale that doesn't correspond with the relatively realistic first half and the slightly tedious but still bearable second half. It is partly saved by Jessica Chastain, who, perhaps for the first time in her career, plays both a leading role and a villain, and enjoys it to the fullest. John Madden wants to build on the success of the likes of Michael Clayton, but on closer inspection you will find that there is no sophistication here. At least just average thanks to the main character's verbal wizardry.
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The ending is a bit far-fetched (no predatory lobbyist would have vacated her position so easily, realizing the immorality of her lifestyle), but otherwise it is a decent and quite believable drama from behind the political scenes. Not to mention that the right to own a gun is one of the issues that resonates strongly in today's society. Elizabeth Sloane has got this downright masculine environment under her thumb, and Jessica Chastain lent her face to it, playing the demanding role perfectly. (75%)
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It is true that in terms of subject-matter Miss Sloane isn’t the simplest movie to watch and it might happen several times that the viewer has no idea what exactly is going on in the film. Jessica Chastain identified so perfectly with her role that she applies her Eurovision of the American Dollar so perfectly and as a lobbyist she is putting in double the effort. The result is that you are watching her with your mouth open, you don’t understand half the stuff that’s going on and about the other half you keep thinking how cool she is that she’s coping with all those things as if it was nothing at all. She’s only human after all. And what she does at the end – that’s only for strong characters. Not only does she whip out a stellar monologue about “Now”, she also shows everybody what a great actress she is and how moch she identified with her role. It’s so good that it made for the strongest movie experience I have had in a while. She’s great, I like her and in this film she showed what an amazing actress she is. Miss Sloane is no simple film, but if you get into it, you will get an amazing ending from the world where dreams are made.
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A brilliant conversation drama moving at such breakneck speed that will blow your mind right from the start. But even if you don’t really care about the issue of gun ownership in the US, there is another reason to watch this movie: the perfect performance of Jessica Chastain who is at her absolute best, so that the screenwriter and director don’t seem to be able to keep up with her. Her not getting an Oscar nomination for Best Actress is an insult in this case. However, as far as gun ownership is concerned, members of both camps will enjoy this movie because it’s not biased in favor of either side. It’s a pure drama full of dirty politics and lobbying with a distorted moral compass. A movie worth seeing.
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