Review of Molly's Game (2017) by Cath O — 05 Jan 2018

I'm an Aaron Sorkin fan so the fast paced dialogue and slightly smartarse-y characters were in my wheelhouse. Jessica Chastain steps into the verbose and self-righteous Sorkin lead character shoes as the former skier turned poker hostess Molly Bloom, whose savvy ambition has her running high stakes poker games and making her own fortune in the process. The film deals with her prosecution for running games infiltrated by the Russian mob some years later. Her lawyer, Idris Elba, takes on her case as we learn how she got to this point.

Chastain carries the film well, although it's quite a sympathetic portrayal of Bloom, whose strength of character and integrity are a tad unlikely. I particularly liked the contentious and tricky relationship with her dad played by Kevin Costner. We see boys' daddy issues so often onscreen, but girls are usually adoring daughters so it was refreshing to see conflict and miscommunication. The poker scenes were well shot and enthralling, although Michael Cera's character - widely acknowledged as Tobey Maguire in reality - is such an obnoxious dick!

Aaron Sorkin's first film as a director is a success thanks to an intriguing story, his sharp script and a compelling lead performance from Jessica Chastain, well supported by Idris Elba.