*** out of four
Jessica Chastain – that lovely red-headed goddess – has had me swooning ever since I saw her in Terrence Malick's Tree of Life (2011). She also turned out to be a phenomenal actress, changing her look for movies like Mama (2013) and The Help (2011). Our relationship, however, hit some friction this past April when The Huntsman: Winter's War opened. The movie was bad and, unfortunately, she was terrible in it. Needless to say, I was worried about “us”. Was this just a rough patch or a sign of things to come (Jessica losing herself to bad effects driven movies)? Well, after seeing the intense thriller-like drama, Miss Sloane, I think we are going to be okay.
Cutthroat Washington D.C. lobbyist Elizabeth Sloane (Chastain) takes on the fight to get a gun-control bill through congress. Battling to squash the bill are her former bosses (Michael Stuhlbarg, Sam Waterston).
Granted, the movie has its share of melodramatic soap opera moments, like when Sloane – on live television – reveals that one of her assistants (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is a survivor of a school shooting. For the most part, though, the drama is compelling.
Now, Chastain's character is thoroughly unlikable, but the actress is able to inject just enough feeling into the character for us to care. It really is a blistering performance and is the reason to see Miss Sloane.