Molly Bloom has had an extraordinary life- she was an Olympic-standard skiier who was accepted to law school, and- whilst working in an office- she got introduced to the world of high-stakes poker. She eventually ran exclusive poker games in Los Angeles and New York, before being arrested by the FBI. All this happened by the age of 35. Now, the story of this extraordinary life has been made into a film, starring Jessica Chastain as Molly.
I think that it's only a matter of time before Jessica Chastain gets an Oscar. She's a fantastic actress and she really gets under the skin of this fascinating, flawed character here. Fiercely determined to be the best at whatever she does, Molly takes the opportunity to learn all she can whilst arranging the poker nights for her entitled arsehole of a boss and when she finally usurps him and takes over the game herself- in a real punch-the-air moment, after he jealously fires her- she uses her charisma and contacts to elevate the game from a scuzzy backroom in a Hollywood bar to suites at the most exclusive hotels. How the wheels come off the business and she ends up indicted by the FBI is told in flashback as she prepares to stand trial. It's a truly powerful performance by Chastain who- even when Molly is at her lowest ebb- stands tall.
Idris Elba is great as lawyer Charles Jaffey, who initially seeks to represent Molly at the arraignment hearing only but ends up taking her case (in a witty yet powerful sequence where he asks her bodyguard to switch places several times so he can get some answers). Jaffey is a principled man, eager to untie the knots around the case, and his exchanges with Molly really spark. He also gets an absolutely barnstorming speech towards the end of the film where he rips into the prosecuting attorneys on Molly's behalf.
Other great performances come from Jeremy Strong as Molly's former boss who introduces her to the world of poker and gives a performance of deliciously entitled arrogance, and there's an intriguing cameo from Michael Cera who plays a slimy Hollywood star known as 'Player X' (widely thought to be based on Tobey Maguire). It's Player X's mocking phonecall after he selfishly dismantles Molly's Los Angeles game that inspires her move to New York, where her downfall begins.
Molly's Game is the directorial debut of Aaron Sorkin (writer of The Social Network and Steve Jobs, and who also writes the screenplay here). The film is very stylish and stylised; there's a lot of on-screen visuals added to help with Molly's explanations of things (in the opening skiing section, for instance, or in one particularly important hand of poker). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if- like me- you're not massively au fait with poker. To be honest, you don't really need to be: anything important is explained (such as any of the terminology used).
The script is tight, full of the usual Sorkin whipsmart rat-a-tat exchanges. It falls down in a couple of places- I had a nagging feeling towards the end that the film tries to pin Molly's actions (albeit subconsciously) down to 'daddy issues'. Molly has a fractious and combative relationship with her authoritarian psychologist father (a strong supporting performance by Kevin Costner) but the final confrontation between the two- where Molly has 'three years of therapy in three minutes' just before she has decide whether she's pleading guilty or not- felt to me like an attempt to wrap things up nicely. Despite this, both Costner and Chastain knock it out of the park with emotionally authentic performances. There's also a heavy reliance on Molly's voiceover to discuss people or scenes which sometimes feels a little laboured. Show, don't tell is the cardinal rule. The film is also long- at nearly two and a half hours- but no part feels like padding.
That said, these niggles weren't enough to derail my enjoyment of and enthusiasm for the film. Take a seat at Molly's game; you won't regret it.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tez
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