Molly’s Game – ICM Film Review

Molly’s Game is the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target. Jessica Chastain holds her own with yet another terrific performance and it’s not like she doesn’t have her fair share of competition with the film also starring Idris Elba and Kevin Costner. It’s surprising just how many famous faces make an appearance throughout, although I wouldn’t get too excited as a lot of these roles are fairly insubstantial.

Aaron Sorkin – mostly known for his snappy dialogue in films such as “The Social Network” and 2015’s “Steve Jobs” is not only writing this time around, but also getting behind the camera. If you’ve seen either of those films before or the TV series “The Newsroom” then you’ll know just what I mean by snappy dialogue. His scripts tend to hit you with a surge of information and if you’re able to keep up, it can often be quite rewarding. He tends to have a writing style which is instantly recognisable, so I was excited to see what he could offer us visually.

In the end what you get is just what you’d expect really, Molly’s Game can move pretty fast at times rarely taking a moment to come up for air. The film’s slow and more sombre moments may be scarce, but they always pack a punch. I think that’s what I enjoyed most about Molly’s Game, Sorkin always seems to recognise those stand out moments within the story that requires less style and more of a personal touch. It is here where he does away with the fast cuts and voiceover narration, the scene is completely stripped bare and what we’re left with is just a handful of characters conversing and allowing themselves to be an open book. I would definitely say that these moments were the highlight for me, whereas the rest of the film just came across as information overload a lot of the time.

There was definitely some consistency issues for me in terms of keeping me engaged and entertained, but the film does feature some truly brilliant performances. I wouldn’t say this is Sorkin’s best work, which is a shame considering it’s his first time directing. Juggling the two responsibilities, however, I’m sure it’s incredibly demanding, so for a first time attempt, this is really very good. I can’t see this being the kind of film that has people coming back for more, but it’s certainly worth checking out.