Here is another film within a month where it has already received a lot of backlash before its wide release. For this film, the lash-put has come from certain demographics in relation to the subject matter, which is gun lobbying in America.
It is understandable for the controversy to happen, and fair play to the film-makers and studios for making a film with a hotly debated topic.
I personally could never care for any of this, as all I see is the film. If it has controversial content, then I might start getting on-board with whatever they're arguing about.
All I saw was a totally enthralling and intensely gripping political thriller that is completely female driven, and rightly so.
From the very first scene, you can tell it is going to be a tense and frenetic ride. The almost Aaron Sorkin-like dialogue got me much more hooked then I thought I would. As we move into the second act, we start to get some supporting roles beginning to have their moment in a film that is pretty much a one woman show. After several scenes were a pure white-knuckle-ride, we get a satisfying ending despite the cheap yet effective twist.
Never has Jessica Chastain look so empowering. You can really feel the tension when anyone is in her presence. Almost everyone is very careful to not get on the wrong side. Her character is stone-cold, and the performance reflects that perfectly. I would easily given this an Oscar nomination, as it was eligible for the Oscar earlier this year.
While Chastain is carrying the film, there were enough moments for some supporting cast members to have their moment, and make it a memorable one. Mark Stuhlbarg, who is doing rather well lately, had a solidly developed as he was effectively the main protagonist. There is one pretty slick scene involving him and a snooker table.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw remains to be quite a talent. The British actress' American accent in this is on-point and consistent. Also, her characters development is key to the film and it works really well. Especially with her early on-screen relationship with Chastain. Another Brit doing a good American accent, was Mark Strong, who did as gooder job as you would expect. It was also great to see John Lithgow, despite having a minor role that was only heavily involved in the final act.
There were lots of positives from the technical side that enhanced the story rather well. It is shot really well and has that business colour palette that 'The Apprentice' would be proud of. The score plays a good role that at first you don't notice.
As mentioned before the script was one of the films strongest aspect. I liked the aggressive execution of it. It manages to be both intense and quite amusing as a lot of the dialogue is back-and-forth with our main characters. There is rarely a time to breath as it is just constant high quality written debates. So with that in mind, it can sometimes be a bit too much. But I would rather have this than a dull script.
I really enjoyed this one. It's a gripping political thriller with top performances, a slick and relentless script and it was delivered really well by a stellar cast. Director John Madden and his team have a great job. He has made some successes in the past 'Shakespeare In Love' and 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'. I would most certainly add this to that bracket.
Chastain is fantastic and worth the admission price alone. Amazingly, the supporting cast still have moment in the sun. That for me, shows how the script is.
In an age where equality is the fashion, this is one of the best female driven films I have seen for some time.
The pacing is pretty quick, and it rarely lets up. I like the messages its telling, and it poses some great questions we should be aware of, especially in the second half of the film. I almost forgot to mention, that once the final act takes place, you could see this as a heist as well as political thriller.
Rating: 8/10
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