I love when a movie is satisfying —and Molly’s Game is that movie, not only is it a terrific story—it’s a true story.
Written by the God of good writing, Aaron Sorkin, (who also makes his directorial debut), the film stars red headed chameleon, Jessica Chastain in an Oscar-worthy performance.
Molly Bloom is a Renaissance woman—she’s an athlete (a member of the U.S. ski team), a brain, a beauty, and extremely enterprising. When she moves to Los Angeles—she becomes embroiled in an underground poker empire that hosts some of Hollywood’s biggest stars (Ben, Matt, Leo)—the names have been changed in the movie—but the film is based on her book and some of the stars are named in the book.
Part of the fun is trying to figure out who is who—was Tobey Maguire the sore sport? Was Ben Affleck the big spender?
Molly’s Game starts with a machine gun fire backstory and moves forward—the words, the images, and the story fly fast—it’s a movie that demands viewer attention.
Chastain soaks up the screen and you can’t keep your eyes off of her. BTW—It’s lovely to see a female-centric film that is not sexually driven. In this film, brains trump beauty—(even though this beautiful brainiac is more of an anti-hero.)
The film also stars Idris Elba as Molly’s lawyer and Kevin Costner in the small, yet worthy role of Molly’s dad.
Molly’s Game is a wild roller coaster ride of a story. Do yourself a favor—don’t read about Molly Bloom—see the film first—and then you’ll want to buy her book. This film is a must see!!!
Molly’s Game opens Christmas day.