Rather bleak, dark, and muddled portrayal of the influence of power on people. \rThe film editing seemed slipshod and confusing, perhaps because, I suspect, the script was too long or there was too much footage. \rThe message of the movie was enervated by its lack of focus. Again, was it the editing? The writing? The direction?

Cate Blanchett is, as ever, transcendent. But the movie dragged on twice as long as it should have. There were a number of sub-plots that just died, we never meet the girl whose suicide starts her downfall. Time is spent on things that don’t pay off and we never really get a true sense of what drives her. I spent half the movie plotting my escape.

Cate Blanchett did an excellent job. However, the film editing was awful. Film kept jumping around and never finished its segment. Hard to follow.

Blanchett was consumed by her character, and will get an Oscar nod simply for being all-in during this insider-style production. Sadly, the director shot at least three movies worth of scenes and couldn’t stay focused enough to finally cut and assemble even one movie into place. Over the top and SELF-INDULGENT. I’m happy to have not spent money to see this.