Today at the Chicago International Film Festival: ‘An Acceptable Loss’

‘An Acceptable Loss’ (U.S.)

1 p.m. Monday at AMC River East, 322 E. Illinois.

Joe Chappelle writes and directs a thought-provoking thriller about a White House national security advisor with a University of Chicago Ph.D., a guilty conscience and a damning memoir written in longhand. Resembling Condoleezza Rice in the Bush administration, Libby Lamb (Tika Sumpter) debates with the U.S. president (Jamie Lee Curtis) about American exceptionalism, total war, deterrence and counter-terrorism. Ben Tavassoli plays a political science grad student with an atypical skill set. Some minor characters in the academic scenes are duds. But a searing score by Valgeir Sigurosson redeems this made-in-Chicago indie, Chappelle’s second to get its world premiere at the festival. Back in 1993 he debuted his smart kidnapping caper “Thieves Quartet.” Recent directing credits for the Northwestern University alum include 30 episodes of the NBC series “Chicago Fire” wherein Clausewitz and Toynbee are not likely name-dropped. For more details from the festival, go to chicagofilmfestival.com.