Rent Miss Sloane on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Jonathan Perera
Directed by: John Madden
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, John Lithgow, Alison Pill, Sam Waterson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. When taking on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds winning may come at too high a price.
Verdict
It's a sharp political thriller, touching upon political issues like gun rights and delving into the often dirty world of politics. This twists and turns as lobbyists attempt to win. Certainly engaging throughout, Chastain's performance absolutely elevates the movie as she endeavors to win.
Watch It.
Review
Perera was a lawyer and first time screenwriter inspired by an interview from lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
I'm surprised I hadn't heard more about this, either upon release or since. This did quite poorly at the box office. I don't know if it was marketing or other factors, but that is likely why I never heard much about it. That and the title could certainly stand to be more enticing.
This is framed with lobbyist Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) testifying at a congressional hearing about ethics violations she may have committed. She invokes her fifth amendment right and doesn't do much testifying.
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| Jessica Chastain plays Elizabeth Sloane |
Sloane is driven, knowledgeable, and authoritative. She's a lobbyist that's very good at her job, working to shape opinions and the world. Chastain is perfect in this role. She exudes the poise that the character should possess. This movie is worth watching for Chastain's performance alone, but the writing is solid.
The crux of the issue is a gun bill that would expand background checks. A gun manufacturer wants to recruit her to squash the bill, but Sloane is in favor of the bill. She takes a job to get the bill passed. From there it's a matter of courting senators, either persuading them to vote the right way or trapping them into it. This is heavy on semantics. How you frame your argument is often just as important as the argument.
The script seems to know this world quite well. The dialog is almost too sharp as characters are able to verbally parry with excellent retorts, but that's not a problem. This is entertainment, and it's a lot of fun to watch these characters spar.
It's the line into the lobbyist world that makes this fun. I assume this is a bit stylized, but we see unscrupulous ways to maneuver people. Sloane seems arrogant to a fault, and I had to wonder if that would pose an issue later. Either way it's fun to see her run this world.
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| Jessica Chastain plays Elizabeth Sloane |
Characters tell us that Sloane is always running two game plans. What she tells everyone else and what she knows. She always is ready with a surprise to trump her opponent. She is cold and calculated in everything that she does.
We know that Sloane has done some ethically questionable things. She's the anti-hero, so we do root for her, but Senator Sperling (John Lithgow) is supposed to be the 'good guy' bringing her transgressions to light. The problem is that he's resorting to similarly dirty tricks. Even the 'good guys' aren't outstanding. The simple answer is this is D.C., and you've got to play dirty to win.
The end of the movie coincides with the end of the hearing. We assume she's going to turn this around to her benefit based on what we've seen. This certainly has a big finish, but it feels like the rug was pulled out from under me with a huge piece of misdirection. There are a lot of people in play to pull off this ending Sloane has devised, and it seems to stretch credibility ust a bit too far. It's still an exciting moment, but it helps if you don't think about for too long. The movie could have done something nearly identical without stretching so far. With as sharp as the movie had been up to this point, it's a bit disappointing that the ending succumbs to being slightly cliche.
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