Stars Chastain and Mbatha-Raw talk about “Miss Sloane”

All too often, society dictates that a woman's strength must come from an entity outside herself, be it her man, children or faith. Men, on the other hand, can be emotionally strapping just by the mere fact of their existence. Women, while always having to be prepared for whatever may come, must also not be too prepared lest they be called try-hards or stiff. For men, just showing up is all too often enough.

These assumptions, about women and men, are challenged in the new film “Miss Sloane.” Its stars, Jessica Chastain and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, consider the picture a cinematic opportunity for Hollywood to alter the way women are seen in real life.

“I've really been looking at the role women have in our society and we, for some reason, attack women for being prepared and ambitious,” Chastain said, noting criticisms Hillary Clinton received after the first presidential debate. “You hear that being said about actresses or musicians or people who really work hard at their profession that are women, but you don't say that about men. We need to change the perception of women, of what a woman is supposed to be.”

Mbatha-Raw added, “People talk about the idea of a strong (female character) and say it could have been (written for) a man. … But that almost takes away from the fact that women have their own strengths as women, and different strengths. (This movie shows) you don't have to try to be a man to be complex and strong.”

In the film, Chastain plays the title But first I read Jack Abramoff's book (“Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist”) — the lobbyist that ended up in jail — because I wanted to understand even what a lobbyist was. Then I Googled and found all these lists of the most successful female lobbyists and just started calling their offices. I got 11 women to agree to meet with me.

Mbatha-Raw: As well as us meeting in D.C. and getting to go to Capitol Hill, I got to visit the lobbying firm that were the consultants for the movie. I also got to meet with leading members of the Brady Campaign (to Prevent Gun Violence) and also a young woman whose mother survived (the) Sandy Hook (shooting) and talk to her about how that had motivated her to become involved in politics and in gun violence prevention.

Q: How does “Miss Sloane” fit into the diversity and representation conversation going on in the industry?

Mbatha-Raw: I think it's great to see a Bechdel test on screen, and we're passing with flying colors. And it's a group of women that are not competing with each other or over a man. I recognize these women, which is so nice to see. They feel very real to me. I want to be involved in more work that presents women, not just as strong women but as real, multi-dimensional women.

Q: What has stuck with you from this movie?

Chastain: It's like what (my character) says in the film, something about (politicians) trying to maintain their seat in office … the priority isn't representing the people, it's being re-elected. When being re-elected is based on raising finances, I think the vote really … it becomes, I mean, I don't want to say it's not important, because of course it is very important, but it's not the priority of the representatives.

Q: Considering Donald Trump is now president-elect and Congress will have a conservative majority, what is “Miss Sloane” trying to say to the world that perhaps it was just hinting at prior to the election?

Chastain: That the system is rotten, and it needs to be overhauled. Yes, we talk about the gun debate, but the whole movie could take — it could be about climate change, immigration, controversial subject, because it leads us to the system is broken. The priorities are in the wrong place. Of course we cannot ignore what's happened (in the election), but also we cannot ignore what's happened the months before. When you have really prominent journalists, open-thinking journalists, saying things about whether or not (Clinton's) smiling too much, it's shocking to me that in 2016 it's still happening. This film's very important for women to see, and for young girls to see, to know that they should take their space.

Mbatha-Raw: You initially look at this film and think it's about the gun debate, but it provokes a lot of different conversations about our relationship to power and women in positions of power and fear and ambition. Who do we celebrate for being ambitious? Who do we not? I think it's hopefully going to provoke a lot of conversation.