Jessica Chastain reveals political dirty tricks in ‘Miss Sloane’

LOS ANGELES — Jessica Chastain plays the title character in “Miss Sloane,” a win-at-all-costs Washington lobbyist who is feared and grudgingly respected by the power establishment in our nation’s capital. The two-time Oscar nominee admitted she was “really shocked, when we went and did our research [for the film], by how much of the focus for members of Congress is on fundraising.

“Of course, I’d known that senators and congressmen had to go to fundraisers, but some were telling me they go to three fundraisers every single day! They weren’t happy about it. I think it would be great to restructure our system so the focus could be on representing the people — and not simply maintaining your seat in office by constantly going to fundraisers,” said the actress in a recent interview with the Sun-Times.

Co-star John Lithgow, who plays a U.S. senator in the movie (opening Friday), pointed out that “there has never been a movie that has really examined the lobbying business as much as ‘Miss Sloane’ does. It’s a fascinating subject for drama, because drama is all about what’s under the surface, and lobbyists work in the shadows. They don’t want people to know what they’re all about and what they’re doing to influence legislation to benefit their clients. I might add those clients — in this case the gun lobby — pay those agents big bucks to get what they want.”

Lithgow also said that while “Miss Sloane” is not a documentary, audiences “will learn an awful lot of things you might not really want to know about the lobbying business,” he added with a rueful laugh. “But it is great stuff for a political thriller.”

For Chastain, one hook for tackling this challenging and often intense piece of acting was that her character in the not-so-distant past likely would have been played by a man.

“I like that this was all about a woman with power. In reading the script I was fascinated that it showed a woman who was incredibly ambitious and always overprepared and really good at her job, and who takes a no-prisoners attitude.

“Yet, she’s also incredibly flawed, because guess what? Women — like men — don’t have to be perfect. It was great to play a character who is so intimidating and strong-willed, but yet so flawed,” added the actress.

Chastain demurred when asked if she could be a strong lobbyist or successful negotiator in real life. “I don’t think I could do this, but I will tell you something most people don’t know: I was on the debate team in school and actually won a gold medal in California for debating,” she said with a chuckle.

“But in real life I’m terrible at negotiating things, because you actually have to be a bully to be good at negotiating. I’m too easily intimidated.”

While the film “shows why it would be great to get money out of politics — and we do present an inside look into the political system and how things work in D.C. — it’s also a big thriller. You think you know where this film is going, but then we surprise you,” Chastain said, referring to a key twist in the plot at the end.

In preparing for her role as Chastain’s top assistant in “Miss Sloane,” Alison Pill came to realize “it’s easy to see all the cynicism involved regarding being a lobbyist, but I came to see the human elements here too. Yes, there’s a lot here about manipulating people in order to win, but you also understand how vulnerable a lot of people can be when put in those situations.

“I went to the Democratic National Convention this year with an arts advocacy group and I got to meet people who reminded me of that. Look, a lot of congressmen do have families and feel strongly about issues they care about. It’s important to keep that in mind.”

Yet, Pill admitted that when the cast went to what she called “lobbying boot camp,” she became intrigued by the intensity of the people she met, people who actually do work as lobbyists in Washington.

“It was fun to watch ambitious, smart, quick-witted people explain how they prepare to go to battle. I’ll always be in for that.”