Molly's Game - Review
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp
Sorkin's work is renowned for its fast pace and relentless dense dialogue that could almost register as its own language. Consequently, it takes a certain kind of director to keep up with his words that have been so meticulously crafted and for Molly's Game, Sorkin steps behind the lens and proves that he's the best man for the job.
After an injury that dashed her chances of becoming an Olympic skier and deferring her place to study law at Harvard, Molly Bloom (Chastain) ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game. Her players included Hollywood stars, business titans and, unbeknown to her, the Russian mob and she is eventually arrested by the FBI. Molly hires criminal defence lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Elba) and the two must work together to exonerate her and change people's tabloid-influenced perceptions in the process.
Aaron Sorkin has written some of the best screenplays over the past 20 years, from A Few Good Me to The Social to Steve Jobs. Every one of his scripts have focused on a male protagonist whose huge intelligence is only superseded by their inflated egos, but Sorkin breaks convention and makes his directorial debut with a self-penned script that centres around a female lead - Molly Bloom, a woman who manipulates the patriarchy and refuses to fall victim to it. Like all of his other works based on real-life people during a specific period in their life, Sorkin cherry picks the most entertaining aspects and embellishes them to such an extent that they bear little resemblance to the way the events actually unfolded. But the deviations and dramatisations are in all service of the story to make it as entertaining as possible; Sorkin makes heavy use of voice-over narration to lead us through Molly's unbelievable journey, a device that the writer has never exercised before.
Equipped with prestige and a highly respected reputation, Sorkin has assembled a fantastic cast. Leading the charge is two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain who is simply spectacular as Bloom and gives one of the best performances of her career in a role that is worthy of her astounding talent. The performance can't be considered virtuoso or one which requires Chastain to utterly transform beyond physical recognition but it's the subtlety, quiet resolve and fierce intelligence that she embodies that equates to one of the most arresting roles she has ever played. Bloom is vulnerable but never not the smartest person in the room and has to reconcile a rocky relationship with her father whilst confronting her imminent court case; the complex storyline and the range of emotions it elicits is scarcely seen on screen, especially for a film with a female lead.
Chastain excels in every scene, but never more so than in her interactions with the men in the film who form two of the character's most important relationships - her attorney Charlie Jaffey and Larry Bloom (Costner), her psychologist father. Molly and Charlie's push and pull dynamic is a fast-paced feast as Charlie is determined to present the judge and prosecution with every detail pertinent to the case whereas Molly has significant reservations and begrudged Charlie evidence that could guarantee her freedom. Eventually, the dysfunctional rapport blossoms into a professional alliance that radiates genuine respect. Meanwhile, it's Molly's fraught kinship with her father that provides the film's heart and is a clear distinction between the mechanical world of underground poker.
Molly's Game is a Sorkin drama through and through with some atypical flourishes from the writer and his confident directorial debut and amazing cast of actors result in one of the year's most engaging watches.
EB
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp
Sorkin's work is renowned for its fast pace and relentless dense dialogue that could almost register as its own language. Consequently, it takes a certain kind of director to keep up with his words that have been so meticulously crafted and for Molly's Game, Sorkin steps behind the lens and proves that he's the best man for the job.After an injury that dashed her chances of becoming an Olympic skier and deferring her place to study law at Harvard, Molly Bloom (Chastain) ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game. Her players included Hollywood stars, business titans and, unbeknown to her, the Russian mob and she is eventually arrested by the FBI. Molly hires criminal defence lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Elba) and the two must work together to exonerate her and change people's tabloid-influenced perceptions in the process.
Aaron Sorkin has written some of the best screenplays over the past 20 years, from A Few Good Me to The Social to Steve Jobs. Every one of his scripts have focused on a male protagonist whose huge intelligence is only superseded by their inflated egos, but Sorkin breaks convention and makes his directorial debut with a self-penned script that centres around a female lead - Molly Bloom, a woman who manipulates the patriarchy and refuses to fall victim to it. Like all of his other works based on real-life people during a specific period in their life, Sorkin cherry picks the most entertaining aspects and embellishes them to such an extent that they bear little resemblance to the way the events actually unfolded. But the deviations and dramatisations are in all service of the story to make it as entertaining as possible; Sorkin makes heavy use of voice-over narration to lead us through Molly's unbelievable journey, a device that the writer has never exercised before.
Equipped with prestige and a highly respected reputation, Sorkin has assembled a fantastic cast. Leading the charge is two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain who is simply spectacular as Bloom and gives one of the best performances of her career in a role that is worthy of her astounding talent. The performance can't be considered virtuoso or one which requires Chastain to utterly transform beyond physical recognition but it's the subtlety, quiet resolve and fierce intelligence that she embodies that equates to one of the most arresting roles she has ever played. Bloom is vulnerable but never not the smartest person in the room and has to reconcile a rocky relationship with her father whilst confronting her imminent court case; the complex storyline and the range of emotions it elicits is scarcely seen on screen, especially for a film with a female lead.
Chastain excels in every scene, but never more so than in her interactions with the men in the film who form two of the character's most important relationships - her attorney Charlie Jaffey and Larry Bloom (Costner), her psychologist father. Molly and Charlie's push and pull dynamic is a fast-paced feast as Charlie is determined to present the judge and prosecution with every detail pertinent to the case whereas Molly has significant reservations and begrudged Charlie evidence that could guarantee her freedom. Eventually, the dysfunctional rapport blossoms into a professional alliance that radiates genuine respect. Meanwhile, it's Molly's fraught kinship with her father that provides the film's heart and is a clear distinction between the mechanical world of underground poker.
Molly's Game is a Sorkin drama through and through with some atypical flourishes from the writer and his confident directorial debut and amazing cast of actors result in one of the year's most engaging watches.
EB
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