FBI agents burst in on Molly Bloom, a once Olympic-level skier. Flashbacks tell the incredible and gripping story of how she worked her way into running a high stakes gambling club for the rich and famous, with Russian mobster involvement. Not such a good idea. A true story.
This film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Adapted Screenplay so why didn’t I hear about it first time round? And hard to believe that this was Alan Sorkin’s directorial debut. It comes in over 2 hours and yet is tightly directed and edited. You always want to keep watching and see what is going to happen to this Molly Bloom. Peter Debruge of Variety praised Sorkin’s script, saying, “… Molly’s Game delivers one of the screen’s great female parts — a dense, dynamic, compulsively entertaining affair, whose central role makes stunning use of Chastain’s stratospheric talent.” Good to see such a good central role for a female actor. Chastain is indeed good, as is Idris Elba and Kevin Costner crops up as Molly’s pushy dad. If you’re wondering just what level of poker game Molly oversaw, in her biography, she said that the biggest loss she ever witnessed was $100 million in one night and the debt was settled the next day. That’s big time.
Sorkin also directed The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) and that is a film that Film Finds will be returning to very soon.
Certificate: 15
2 hours 20 min
Netflix, Prime, YouTube
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner
