Molly’s Game (2017)
…………………………………………………
Molly’s Game Movie Review
Molly’s Game is a 2017 crime drama film directed by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba. It is one of the best films of the year.
………………………………………………….
“Because it’s my name…
and I’ll never have another“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
It follows a famous “Poker Princess” who ran many high-profile Poker gigs with celebrities and tycoons before becoming an FBI target. This is a real life story which came from Molly Bloom’s book which she herself wrote and the film adapts the book stupendously as this adapted screenplay is one of the best of the year.
This is the kind of long film which I can get behind. Certainly it runs for almost two and a half hours but it is never at all boring. That’s because the dialogue is so brisk and interesting, the story is mostly pretty riveting and the person at the center of the film is quite fascinating to follow.
Yes, Molly is a very interesting woman who led such a cinema-worthy life and thus she got herself a movie and a great one at that. This is another highly strong woman’s picture in the year which also gave us amazing ‘I, Tonya’. The character development and growth of the protagonist is simply superb and although she is hardly likable, I still got her and her problems.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Her relationship with her father is complicated and that led to that really wonderful final sequence between the two which did tug at my heartstrings quite a bit. Kevin Costner is so good at playing this type of role and he could do it in his sleep. As for the various mob and celebrity characters, they come and go and most aren’t as crucial to the story and some could have been cut in my opinion.
Idris Elba plays Molly’s lawyer Charlie Jaffey who is another terrific character. The relationship between the two is very strong and interesting to follow. This is the finest yet performance from Idris Elba who is an underrated, quality actor who here really showed his acting range. The monologue that he gives near the end of the film truly is powerful.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
But of course this is Jessica Chastain’s show and she is once again magnetic. Her raw acting talent is undeniable and she truly is a star by now. This might even be her best work yet which really says a lot from the actress of her caliber. The amount of emotion, but also coolness and sexiness that she brought the role should not be understated. She was shamefully snubbed for an Oscar as is the whole film which only got one screenplay nod. Ridiculous.
Molly’s Game features terrific cinematography at display and the editing is pretty deft for such a long film. I really liked all of the flashbacks that show us who Molly and her father really are and for once the switch back and forth is more accomplished than annoying. I also liked the soundtrack and the film is very cool both from the technical and the story standpoint.
As for Aaron Sorkin, he really did a phenomenal job in his first directorial effort. His direction here isn’t the year’s best, but still it’s pretty strong and accomplished for a first-time director. And of course his writing is phenomenal per usual and the film is even better than ‘Steve Jobs’.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
As I said, the film has its less interesting sequences and it could have used a more thematically rich approach as the themes here are evident and displayed, but not explored to the fullest extent. But still the crime elements did not bother me as this is a new kind of crime flick which is led by strong dialogue and a woman in the main role for once which all led to a rare crime film which I simply ate up, especially the dialogue which is the best dialogue of 2017 as Sorkin fires at all cylinders and delivers many riveting conversations, discussions, monologues and points about gambling, human psychology and power.
Deft editing, strong cinematography, superb writing and reliably fantastic dialogue and pretty strong directorial debut from Aaron Sorkin make Molly’s Game a winner on all fronts. Idris Elba’s performance is terrific, but this is Jessica Chastain’s show throughout and she delivers possibly her best performance yet which really says a lot. She is magnetic, sensual, cool and her character is consistently fascinating to follow. The fact that she did not get an Oscar nomination is baffling to me. This is a new type of crime film fueled by many moving scenes, rapid-fire, engaging dialogue and a fascinating story and real life figure leading to one of the year’s best films.
