AWFJ Movie of the Week, November 21 – November 25: Miss Sloane
If you have the stomach for corruption in the political arena, then director John Madden’s new drama Miss Sloane might be just the ticket. If you have had your fill of politicking, bad behaviour and ruthlessness in the real world, watching even more on movie screens might seem a little like an extended torture session. Read on…
Madden’s new film had the curious luck to arrive on screens just as drama of the US election continues to escalate into more bizarre new manifestations. Really, who could think this stuff up? If it wasn’t reality, one might swear that some celestial version of Aaron Sorkin was hard at work, dashing off incongruous plot twists and ever more horrifying characters — a white supremacist wife beater in the White House? A megalomaniac conman in a bad suit with the world’s worst comb-over. Sure! Why not…Keep it coming.
As the titular character, Jessica Chastain is all Sturm und Drang, with her copper hair and slash of dark crimson lipstick. The actress gives it everything she’s got, which is considerable. As a lobbyist in a high-powered firm hired to promote the interests of the pro-gun folk, she is always one step ahead of her opponents. But the film is upstaged by real events that continue to unfold in ever more insane fashion. Who needs political drama in the movie theatres, when it is splashed across television screens, facebook posts, and twitter feeds. At some point, it begins to feel a little like overkill.
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panelists Comments:
Thelma Adams: Miss Sloane. This is what I’m talking about: a female-driven drama about the gun lobby starring Jessica Chastain in full flame.
Nell Minow: Miss Sloane — a timely take on Washington lobbyists.
Jennifer Merin: Jessica Chastain’s commanding performance is a chilling indictment of capital corruption. This is flamboyant fiction that mirrors fact.
Read Thelma Adam’s interview with Jessica Chastain here.
Film Details:
Title: Miss Sloane
Director: John Madden
Release Date: November 25, 2016
Running Time: 132 minutes
Language: English
Principal Cast: Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alison Pill, Jake Lacy, John Lithgow, Sam Waterston
Screenwriter: Jonathan Perera
Production Companies: EuropaCorp, FilmNation Entertainment, Archery Pictures, France 2 Cinema, Canal+, Cine+m, France Televisions
Distributor: EuropaCorp
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Thelma Adams, Nikki Baughan, Anne Brodie, Candice Frederick, Pam Grady, Leba Hertz, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Perri Nemiroff, Liz Whittemore, Jeanne Wolf
Other Movies Opening the Week of November 21, 2016 to November 25, 2016
Edited by Sandra Kraisirideja, AWFJ.org Associate Editor. Written by Dorothy Woodend
