I’m told House of Cards and Scandal have popularized the sort of back-room political intrigue and hushed power plays that once — like, a couple weeks ago — defined the soon-to-be-drained forested wetland called Capitol Hill. And depending chiefly upon your own political proclivities, you either think shadowy, Illuminati-themed string-pulling by high-power lobbyists is history, or just now really getting started.
In either case you’ll enjoy Miss Sloane, a smart, brisk, and potent jog through the take-no-prisoners, win-at-all-costs world of high-stakes lobbying, and hyphen use. (Sorry, the hyphens are me.)
As she’ll happily confess, DC power-lobbyist Madeleine Elizabeth Sloane is a hard charger, a power player, a ruthless schemer who traffics in persuasion and delights in thinking three moves ahead. She won’t tolerate anything short of utter victory, and she also won’t think twice about shoving her friends under the bus to get there — a character trait you can expect to have your nose rubbed in for the bulk of this film’s two hour twelve minute runtime.
Sloane works at a big shiny firm, slashing and burning and getting stuff done — until she’s recruited to help the gun lobby and finds herself spun around and working for the other side instead. While this plays out, Sloane is also called to testify to her misdeeds, an inquest just maybe orchestrated by the same well-oiled and thoroughly-funded machine she’s trying to take down.
A movie about a cold, conniving, hyper-competitive and morally bankrupt female lobbyist with equally cool outfits and fembot-perfect hair demands a rock-solid lead actress, particularly when the character verges on workaholic, sociopathic caricature.
Jessica Chastain delivers. Right from go, she flat out dominates as the titular Sloane; what depth and dimensionality her character may lack on the page, she supplies on screen with a stolen moment or a subtle quiver of the chin. Granted, Chastain has some experience humanizing otherwise unappetizing zealots, but what she does here breaks new ground. You’d think it’d be hard to empathize with the glassy little pellet spun down from all the self-interest, disloyalty, and nude ambition there is. You’d be largely right, but not entirely — and that’s Chastain’s magic. She’s splendid.
The supporting cast punches hard, too. The always-impeccable Mark Strong plays Chastain’s boss, reprising to a reasonable facsimile the relationship they shared in Zero Dark Thirty — that is, a man trying his level best to stay atop a wild bucking animal and shrugging in exhaustion when she throws him again. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alison Pill, and Ennis Esmer create a believable, properly strained workplace of butting heads and abrasive personalities. Sam Waterston doesn’t seem to be in the best of health, unfortunately, but gives what he has to the role of firm patriarch; John Lithgow puts on his best stern face (and it’s a good one) as the Senator leading the inquisition into Sloane’s shady dealings.
Miss Sloane feels decidedly old fashioned, not only for its suddenly-nostalgic portrayal of Washington, but also as an engaging medium-stakes cloak-and-dagger thriller. Tightly directed by John Madden, it’s an exciting ride. But while it overdoses on prescience (entropy, anyone?) and lacks the stark realism of a Michael Clayton or the true-story underpinnings of The Insider, it does paint a (maybe accurate?) picture of the forces at play in Washington decision-making.
One casualty of its portrayal might prove to be the Swedish pipe dream of the six hour workday, which I’m sorry to report is handily dispatched by yet another aggressive and all-American apologia for 20-hour slogs with banker’s boxes and nice shirts. Say what you want about Sloane, but she does her homework, lives to work, and gets results. Will Hollywood please stop pumping our bosses’ minds full of this nonsense? Someone lobby for that.
So, see this movie. Sure, Sloane is an exaggerated character, and sure, the shady back-room dealings and Hollywood ending are a bit much, but Chastain’s performance — as well as the film’s use of realistic sets, solid working actors and unglamorous office politics — sufficiently grounds an enterprise that will stay with you long after the lights come up.
Haus Verdict: Jessica Chastain elevates this brisk political thriller to award territory with her portrayal of a Machiavellian lobbyist — even though the story, and its pre-drained swamp, now seem strangely quaint.
Miss Sloane opens everywhere Friday, December 9.
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