MOLLY'S GAME REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Aaron Sorkin is best known for writing the scripts for films such as The Social Network, Moneyball and Steve Jobs. However, with Molly's Game, he makes his directorial debut and it's an impressive one at that. The film stars Jessica Chastain as the titular characer, Molly Bloom. While Sorkin directs, he also wrote the script which was based on Bloom's book and her story keeps us captivated from beginning to end.

Molly's Game is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba), who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.

The film frequently cuts between various points of Molly's life, giving us an insight to who she was and we learn that she was once an Olympic-class skier who was forced to give it up after sustaining an injury. She plans on going to law school and earns money through various jobs, one of which includes working for a real estate agent, Dean Keith (Jeremy Strong). It's through Keith that Molly first becomes involved with poker as she helps him out at his games. When he threatens to fire her from both of her jobs, Molly takes matters into her own hands and begins running her own poker games in various hotels. At first, she begins hosting games in Los Angeles but runs afoul of the ambitions of an anonymous player, only known as 'Player X' (Michael Cera). This leads to Molly relocating her games to New York, however, instead of catering to stars, she rubs elbows with anyone who has money. This attracts the attention of the American mob, Russian mob and the FBI. By the time Molly realises this, she's far too deep into her drug addiction that she's lost her focus and the results are brutal.

The other timeline happens over two years after her empire has collapsed. Molly has no money and is facing indictment and possible prison time which leads to her reaching out to Jaffey for representation. At first, Jaffey is reluctant, mainly because of her 'colourful' reputation, however, he is soon able to look over the tabloid headlines and reports written about her and discovers the true Molly Bloom.

Prior to watching Molly's Game, I'd never heard of Molly Bloom or her story, however, I was captivated from the beginning until the credits rolled up. Molly is an interesting individual and I can understand why Sorkin chose her story to base his first film on. While many viewers will have an idea of who Molly is through reading the tabloids and the stories written about her, they may be surprised to discover who the 'real' Molly Bloom is. This film gives everyone an insight and brings depth to her character, making for a compelling watch. It doesn't matter if you've never played poker or don't understand the game, as it's really just the glitzy backdrop against which the action occurs. It's mainly a way as to contrast the lifestyle and culture of 'glamorous' Los Angeles with 'gritty' New York City. The themes of Molly's Game relate to various addictions including drugs, gambling and, as Molly's father (Kevin Costner) explains it, having power over powerful men. Molly first begins taking drugs to keep her awake and to help her sleep at night but it soon develops into an addiction. The film clearly shows gambling addiction and how easy it is to become swept up into the game. Molly knows that this addiction can become a serious issue and offers to help the players avoid debt. One scene shows a player boasting about his wife's surprise 40th birthday party, unfortunately, because of his addiction to gambling, he ends up losing all of his money and his marriage ending in divorce. It's in these scenes that Molly is shown as a caring and sympathetic human being. 

As far as performances goes, Chastain stands out as Molly. She received her first Academy Award nomination in 2012 for her supporting role in The Help and was nominated a year later for her leading performance in Zero Dark Thirty. However, since then, she has given supporting roles in films such as Interstellar and The Martian. She impressed critics last year with her leading performance in the drama, Miss Sloane, but she was overlooked for an Oscar nomination. With her portrayal of Molly Bloom, I think Chastain gives her best performance yet and I think that this may be the year she finally earns her first Academy Award. Sorkin's script is full of powerful monologues and Chastain delivers them with passion. Molly's Game is worth watching just for her performance. Elba gives an impressive supporting role too. In the past year, he has appeared in films such as The Dark Tower, alongside Matthew McConaughey, and The Mountain Between Us alongside Kate Winslet, unfortunately, both were disappointments. Elba previously won his first Golden Globe in 2012 for his performance in the TV series, Luther. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see Elba receive his first Oscar nomination this year as he gives his most impressive performance yet. He has a memorable scene where he delivers a monologue about why the prosecutors should 'do the right thing'. It's a powerful monologue and Elba deserves a nomination just for that scene alone.

Molly's Game marks a solid directorial debut for Aaron Sorkin and is powered by Molly Bloom's compelling story and showcases Jessica Chastain at her best.

8/10