Review: Molly's Game
A bright law student becomes the madam of the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game in Los Angeles and New York. It may seem a wholly cinematic invention but it is very much the true story of one Molly Bloom, who built a multi-million-dollar empire from scratch and was eventually the target of an FBI investigation and whose life story is depicted in the highly engrossing Molly's Game.
That the film should be so indefatigably kinetic should come as no surprise considering that the tale is told by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, famous for his torrentially verbose dialogue for TV's The West Wing and for films such as The Social Network, Moneyball and Steve Jobs. Molly's Game marks Sorkin's directorial debut and proves that he is as dynamic a director as he is a screenwriter. Part of this is undoubtedly due to his inherent confidence in his own screenplay, which allows Sorkin the ability to get out of the way and simply let the story and his magnificent lead actors, Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, speak for themselves.
Speak they most certainly do. The film's opening minutes are a dense jungle of information as Sorkin presents pre-Poker Princess Molly back when she was one of the best freestyle skiers in the country. A freak accident results in the end of her skiing career. Deciding to take a year off before starting law school, she moves to Los Angeles, wanting "to be young for a while in warm weather." Working at a club, she encounters Dean Keith (Jeremy Strong), a real estate agent who hires her to work in his office and soon gets her to organise the weekly underground poker game he hosts, which is populated by movie stars, rappers, and business titans. Molly observes the ins and outs of the game, the participants' psychologies and playing styles, Googles whatever she doesn't know, and finds herself raking in thousands in tips. When Dean tries to cut her out of the game, she decides to host her own, poaching his players, impressing them with a fancier location and the best amenities, and diligently running it as a legitimate business.
Sorkin makes it crystal clear that, whilst the primary reason for the players' switch of allegiance was due to celebrity poker player, Player X (Michael Cera, lacing his character's malice with a comedic streak), making the move, it was Molly's savvy that allowed all her players to feel both nurtured and in full control of the game. Sorkin also conveys how, despite being the one in charge of every facet of her empire, Molly's fate often hinges on the whims of powerful men, whether it be her demanding psychologist father (an excellent Kevin Costner), who demanded athletic and academic excellence; douchebag boss Dean; petty Player X, who shuts down her Los Angeles business in a heartbeat; lovelorn alcoholic Douglas Downey (a hilarious Chris O'Dowd), who would bring figures connected to the Russian mafia into the game; or Charlie Jaffey (Elba), the lawyer trying with all of his might to keep her out of prison. Even when Sorkin attributes most of her problems to daddy issues, it's nevertheless difficult to deny the hard-as-nails moxie of Molly.
The cast all get moments to shine - Brian d'Arcy James and Bill Camp both make strong impressions as two of Molly's regular players - and Elba pulls off one barnburner of a monologue, but this is Chastain's showcase and she never lets one forget it. Slinking through in cleavage-baring outfits and sky-high stilettos, her Molly deploys her glamorous and sexy persona as both shield and weapon. Chastain once again proves that, despite being the only woman in the room, she's the most formidable figure there.
Molly's Game
Directed by: Aaron Sorkin
Written by: Aaron Sorkin; based on the memoir by Molly Bloom
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Brian d'Arcy James, Chris O'Dowd, Michael Cera, J.C. MacKenzie, Bill Camp, Graham Greene, Jeremy Strong, Samantha Isler
