Miss Sloane certainly has some Aaron Sorkin in its DNA, as evidenced by the initial dialogue between cutthroat lobbyist Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) and her team, which includes Alison Pill, late of Sorkin’s HBO serial, “The Newsroom.” 

Like Sorkin, the film’s ideological message is far from hidden. Sloane, its poster child for the corruption of our political system, uses her evil powers for good, as she seeks to convince the Senate to pass a major gun-control bill. As the film from Academy Award-nominated director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) continues, the machine behind the scenes begins to show. First-time screenwriter Jonathan Perera’s script is well, if obviously, orchestrated. It is filled with October surprises for both sides of the aisle. Still, the film successfully rouses with its finale, which is worthy of ’70s social cinema greats. 

As a multiple Oscar nominee, anything starring Chastain and released this time of year automatically generates awards talk, but as entertaining and intelligent as Miss Sloane is, its only truly memorable quality is Chastain’s performance. The film will appeal to anyone suffering from Sorkin withdrawal; too bad that sort of preaching to the choir rarely makes much noise outside its echo chamber.