Film Review: 'Miss Sloane'

Basking in our newfound freedom now that university is over and a nice long summer begins, my friend and I made plans on Wednesday to go into town for some lunch and a trip to the cinema. She had already seen this film, but highly recommended it and thought it would be one I would enjoy too, and as she has a Cineworld Unlimited card, she was more than willing to join me!

Brief Summary: Miss Sloane is a majorly respected lobbyist in the US, who represents many top companies. However, when she is asked to persuade more women to support the right to bare arms, in order to oppose a proposed bill looking to introduce restrictions to this right, she jumps ship and campaigns for the other side. Her exceptional passion for work and seeming lack of personal life proves to do her both good and bad... and suddenly her often ruthless decisions, effect her new colleagues, and can come back to haunt her.

From reading the synopsis, I was expecting this film to be a bit like the show Suits and, in some ways, it was, particularly the legal references and fast pace. But it was also a bit
different - more serious, fewer romances and quite relevant to real life context.

I was surprised that I didn't really know any of the cast with the exception of brief appearances from Christine Baranski Mamma Mia! ; The Good Wife, etc.) and John Lithgow (How I M et Your Mother, etc.) However, I thought the overall standard was excellent - no weak links, and all the characters fitted well together.

I particularly liked Jessica Chastain's performance as Elizabeth Sloane - the principal character, of course, but a very complicated one in my opinion and thus a tough role which she portrayed excellently.

While Miss Sloane is a very extreme version of what I am perhaps picking up on and therefore not particularly like me at first glance, I did feel a little as though I could relate to aspects of her personality- obsessiveness, addictive personality, bossy, impatient (at times), living life with a wall up for fear of being hurt (sometimes), a generally good person who can come across as ruthless or heartless without meaning to, etc...

The plot was simple enough to follow, yet complex enough to keep you interested. I found the overall concept exceptionally engaging as US gun law is something I find particularly interesting and have my own real opinion on (Short version: I am very much anti-gun situation as is, no matter what the founding fathers thought! Long version: I think that would need a whole new post....)

The ending caught me completely by surprise. Not because I had a predicted ending ready, I don't think, and yet I was initially not keen on the ending simply due to the fact that I was taken off guard. However, when we left the cinema I was aware that I needed some time to process it before I could make a real assessment. On reflection, I think my initial dislike was down to the fact that the events that had been set up throughout the course of the film were all quite hurriedly drawn together in the final 10-15 minutes, and felt a little rushed. That said, I think the overall ending and its effect were clever.

Don't go and see it if all you want is a chic-flick, but for some seriously good drama, this is a must see!