Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, Moneyball) is back with another fast-talking script. This time he also goes behind the camera to bring us into the secretive world of high-stakes poker in ‘Molly’s Game.’ The film is based on a true story that lets the audience take a glimpse at how rich people lose a lot of money for fun. For those that don’t know anything about poker, it can be a bit intimidating especially when Sorkin tries to give us a tutorial on flops and rivers. Don’t worry if you get lost in the jargon, it is still extremely thrilling to watch celebrities and CEO’s on the brink of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single hand. ‘Molly’s Game’ is ultimately worth the ante.
The good news about ‘Molly’s Game’ is that Aaron Sorkin cast the versatile actress Jessica Chastain in the lead role. The film starts off showing Molly Bloom’s bumpy road from Olympic skiing hopeful to running a lucrative high-stakes gambling operation. It’s interesting to note that Molly developed her ultra-competitive spirit from her hard-driving father (a good Kevin Costner). A ski injury on the slopes ends Molly’s chances of making it to the Olympics. She decides to take a year off before going to law school and moves to Los Angeles. She becomes a cocktail waitress and it is not long before Molly becomes friends with the power elite in Hollywood. When Molly meets Dean (Jeremy Strong) at the bar she works at, he hires her as his office assistant. Dean has rich friends who meet up with him regularly for high-stakes poker games with a $10,000 buy-in. Soon Molly helps organize the games for Dean and sees the earning potential for herself. When Dean and Molly part ways, she starts her own games and the money flows in like champagne.
In true Sorkin fashion, the story jumps back and forth not following a chronological order. In the book, Molly names rich celebrities that became regulars at her poker games like Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck. The movie never mentions the names of these actors probably due to liability reasons. Therefore Michael Cera represents a composite of these famous actors in the film and goes by the moniker, “Player X.” He’s soft-spoken at the poker table but reveals to Molly that he dislikes the game but enjoys defeating his opponents and ruining their lives. Who knew that the boyish Tobey could be so ruthless? Many rich and powerful men fall for Molly but there is no mention of her personal relationships in the film. Chastain is compelling as the “Poker Princess.” She brings intelligence and grit to her character.
The theme running through the biopic is that Molly is a survivor. She soon goes to Manhattan and lures big Wall Street fish to posh hotels for her poker games. She is on top of the world until she gets entangled with the mafia. It’s the beginning of the end. When she publishes her memoir titled ‘Molly’s Game,’ the FBI busts her illegal gambling ring. Desperate, she turns to lawyer Charlie Jaffey (an excellent Idris Elba) to plan a defense strategy to keep her out of jail. Sorkin expertly uses flashbacks to shed light on Molly’s infamous story. The chemistry between Chastain and Elba is electrifying. At first, his character is suspicious of helping the woman that he has read in the tabloids. When he reads her book and asks her questions about her life to fill in the gaps, he gets to know the real Molly. For a brief moment in time, she figured out how to rule a male-dominated world.
You have to hand it to Sorkin for coming up with another triumphant screenplay and doing a commendable job in his directorial debut. You can tell he watched and emulated the techniques of directors like David Fincher behind-the-scenes. Chastain is stellar in the lead role. There are also some first-rate performances from the supporting cast of Elba, Costner and Cera. ‘Molly’s Game’ is a solid gambling film that hits a royal flush.
