Usually when a screenwriter steps up to the director’s
chair, it’s so that their precious script doesn’t get tampered with. Aaron
Sorkin is one of the few who wouldn’t have to worry about that. Considered one
of the last rockstar screenwriters (if there is such a thing), his scripts have
been brought to life by some of the greats like Rob Reiner, David Fincher and
Danny Boyle, and that’s not even getting into his TV shows. He’s known for three
things: his razor-sharp dialogue, his thorough research, and his fascination
with real life high-ballers who make tons of money at the risk of basically
everything else, whether it be the creation of Facebook, using statistics to
build the ultimate baseball team, or becoming the CEO of Apple, and Molly’s Game, based on the true story of
an Olympic skier who ran an exclusive high-risk underground poker game, is no
exception. So, what was it about this story that made him want to get behind
the camera? My guess: he probably just really wanted to show off Jessica
Chastain’s cleavage.
Our story follows Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain), an
overachieving one-time champion skier raised by a controlling father (Kevin
Costner) whose career was shot when she suffered a crippling back injury at the
age of thirteen. She moves to LA and gets a job as an assistant to a real
estate agent (Jeremy Strong), which includes overseeing the underground poker
games he holds with celebrities at the Viper Lounge. Eventually she moves shop
to New York and sets up her own game at the Four Seasons. Buy-ins are $10,000 a
seat and clients include famous actors, musicians, athletes, business tycoons
and royalty. But her empire falls apart when she unknowingly lets Russian
mobsters into her game.
While the memoir it’s based on ends with Molly shutting down
her game after the mob gets involved, the movie begins two years after the book
is published when she’s arrested by the FBI during a mob investigation, with
the feds demanding that she relinquish the names of some of her clients. The
narrative bounces between the court case, Molly’s rise to power, and the
occasional flashback to her childhood and her struggles with her father.
Sorkin’s signature verbiage is laced throughout, with some of the tastiest
exchanges being between Molly and her lawyer (Idris Elba), who’s surprisingly
laid back despite raising his daughter in a similarly strict fashion as Molly’s
dad raised her, sans the emotional baggage. Chastain’s narration guides us
throughout these highs and lows, filling us in on the nuances and intricacies of
the game, reading players and running an illegal business for the rich and
famous under the nose of the law, while walking the fine line between
intimidation and seduction (I wasn’t exaggerating earlier, her breasts are
front and center for about 70% of the movie). There isn’t a weak performance to
be found, with Chastain and Elba being the main standouts, but we also get
fantastic acting from Kevin Costner, Jeremy Strong, Chris O’Dowd, and a
surprisingly menacing turn from Michael Cera of all people.
Even when they’re being handled by auteur directors,
Sorkin’s stories and voice are undeniably his. It’s a good thing that Sorkin’s
scripts have been picked up by such talented directors, because he seems to
have picked up a few of their tricks. The technical aspects are much like his
dialogue: fast-paced, whip smart, rhythmic, and going at a breakneck speed. But
Sorkin knows when to not let the script get in the way and shoots his scenes
with how they’ll look in the editing room in mind. (Although it does have a few
of his signature walk-and-talks, because of course it does.) That said, while
he’s clearly picked up a lot, it still bears a few of the hallmarks of a
first-time director, especially for someone who’s a screenwriter by trade.
There are two big examples of this. One is how the passage of
time. Molly had been running this game for years, but the way this movie is
paced, it feels like the whole operation was done over a few months. Another
big sore spot is a scene towards the end where two characters find resolution
in a way that’s incredibly unrealistic in their disposition. Up until this
point the movie has been expertly paced, which is great for a movie that clocks
in at 140 minutes, but like the frozen stick that ended Molly’s athletic
career, this little speedbump does bring things to a screeching halt and wraps
up that particular conflict a little too neatly. It’s a jarring swerve in an
otherwise smooth ride, but it if this script had gone through one more rewrite,
it probably would’ve been scrapped.
Bottom line, Molly’s
Game is a sharp movie to cash your chips in for. It’s a fascinating
character study that has all the witty dialogue that we’ve come to expect from
Aaron Sorkin. There are better and worse things in theaters right now
(especially in January, where the only options are Oscar stragglers and complete
shit), but I’d say it’s worthwhile.
8/10
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