Miss Sloane (2016)
★ ★ ★ - Good
The writer does one of the better Sorkin impressions I've heard. It's not as funny, but the dialogue is fast and thick, able to slam down the drama hard on an upbeat scene or bounce a tense moment out with a smile. The script also does that rarely-copied Sorkin trick of telegraphing exactly what's going to happen and then when it happens, you're dazzled anyway.
The story doesn't pass for realism, but in its own pulpy way it works, and that's mainly a credit to the cast. Jessica Chastain is full throttle, reminding me of her work in Molly's Game. Also, like Molly there's a combination of great character actors (Mark Strong, John Lithgow, Alison Pill, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jake Lacy and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and just great faces. The film is also really well photographed. Not flashy, but there's a contrast between the cold office politics and warm places where plans are hatched, that doesn't lean into blues and orange-browns like most films.
I wish I had more to say about the subject matter, which is about lobbying for and against universal background checks for purchasing guns. I thought there might be some raw nerve scenes or heavy message moments, but those lines are few and take a backseat to the chess game between the two groups. It really could've been about any hot-button issue.