The stark inequalities at the heart of the film are palpable throughout, although never more so than in one particular shot, when the lens pans out of a car Jack and his aide are sitting in, discussing his lack of enthusiasm for the campaign, focusing not on them but the changing landscape. In the brief time it takes them to go from a speech to Jack’s home, the scenery evolves, barren concrete and dilapidated buildings giving way to graceful homes with carefully maintained lawns. Even Veronica and Harry’s relationship, which we see more of through flashbacks, centres on this lack of equal footing — more so once we learn the details of a tragedy that tainted their relationship before his death. (The pacing is impressive. As she proved with HBO’s Sharp Objects , Flynn knows how to drop just the right amount of hints for the punch to hit right when she wants it to.)