Watched on Netflix

There are always things about the Americans that leave Europeans a little puzzled. The food culture, for example. The election of their president. And of course the strong love of weapons. Whenever a massacre happens and you ask yourself how the perpetrator got hold of all these weapons, ... nothing happens. The fact that "Miss Sloane" (German title "Die Erfindung der Wahrheit"-The Invention of Truth) flopped badly at the US box office 4 years ago, despite good reviews, a prominent cast and a topical theme, fits into the incomprehensible picture.

At this point, of course, I must add that "Miss Sloane" by debut screenwriter Jonathan Perera is hardly interested in the topic itself. The pros and cons of gun ownership are hardly discussed at all. Rather, Sloane and the others are interested in how they can win over the undecided senators on the issue. What is true for one does not necessarily apply to the other; arguments are not put forward here out of conviction, but are merely a means to an end.

The clearly more exciting question of the film is: Does the end really justify any means? Is an even basically noble intention to regulate gun ownership more strongly reason enough to justify going down that road? Fittingly, Perera chose a protagonist who would be flattered by the word "ambivalent". She takes what she can get, has no moral qualms, even exploits personal trauma if it leads her closer to victory. If she were on the side of the gun advocates, she would be the ideal bogeyman. But as it is, the viewer always has the queasy feeling of having made a pact with the devil.

Eerily ambivalent female power Jessica Chastain, usually at home on the "good" side, makes this tightrope walk her own. Even more, as an ice-cold strategist with blood-red lips, she dominates the action in every scene, be it in the office or a courtroom. Consequently, the original English title is Miss Sloane, because next to her and the lobbyist's distinct personality, the colleagues and enemies who appear quite committed cannot hold their own. This is a bit of a pity, as the important discussion of the topic of weapons is at least made more difficult - the titular anti-heroine does not necessarily invite us to make common cause with her.

Nevertheless, "Miss Sloane" is exciting. Director John Madden, who usually feels more at home with feel-good comedies like "Shakespeare in Love" or "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", staged an old-school political thriller here. What doesn't produce any insights into the use of weapons, at least provides insights into American lobbying. Insights that are sometimes fascinating, then again frightening, more than confirming the already rather bad image of the lobbyists. At one point or another, this is perhaps a little slathered, especially towards the end. Nevertheless, the film is worth seeing and deserves a larger audience than it has received - if only to keep a topic in the conversation that is always shelved far too quickly.