I know next to nothing about John Madden‘s Miss Sloane (EuropaCorp, 12.9). Written by Jonathan Perera, it feels like a smart, flinty Aaron Sorkin-like piece about tough Congressional hombres in conflict. Apparently the plot has to do with Jessica Chastain‘s titular character trying to push through gun-control legislation. Strong, classy costars (Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alison Pill, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow) but Madden’s previous liking for emotionally soothing material (Shakespeare in Love + two Best Exotic Marigold Hotel flicks) scares me a bit.

Friend #1 who’s seen it: “I liked it a lot. NRA will hate it. Chastain great.” Friend #2: “Miss Sloane is indeed very good: Michael Clayton by way of Aaron Sorkin. A super-smart Black List script written by a British-born lawyer who lives in Singapore. Chastain is phenomenal, but so is the whole supporting cast. And it’s probably the best directing of John Madden’s career. I was like…wait, John Madden directed this?”