'Molly's Game' Jessica Chastain as high stakes captain
By Moira Sullivan
Based on the memoirs of by Molly Bloom and screenplay written by director Aaron Sorskin, Molly’s Game is one the best films of 2017 with two nominations for the Golden Globes next month as, best adapted screenplay, and best actress Jessica Chastain. Incidentally along with the report on Lady Bird set in California’s capital on this week's show - Chastain is from Sacramento California. Although she has recently been playing films as a woman in the midst of powerful men that can hold her own as in Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Miss Sloan from last year, Molly’s Game is her most virtuous effort.
When Molly Bloom took a serious tumble in competitive skiing, her career as a professional athlete came to an end. With her name and reputation, she went on to create a high stakes poker game under her own rules and conditions. We discover this at the beginning of the film when she has been arrested and is being prosecuted by the FBI for illegal gambling. Acquiring a good lawyer is part of her plan to vindicate herself, and she is able to convince the brilliant defense attorney Charles Jaffey (Idris Elba) to take on her case as an innocent clean and sober client. He is most persuaded however by his teenage daughter who has read about Molly Bloom’s games and considers her a feminist hero. The uncredited role of Jaffey’s daughter is important as it was at about this age Molly Bloom was forced to take a turn in a promising career. This young girl remains throughout the film with flashbacks and the process of coming to restitution with her formative years.
Kevin Costner plays a father who pushes Molly to excel beyond her abilities yet she is a worthy adversary to his browbeating demeanor. The script is brilliant in replicating past and present not only through images but engaging and thought-provoking dialogue. The rapport between Chastain and Elba is brilliant.
The cast of poker players in positions of power and wealth that Molly directs confirms why Jaffey's daughter holds her in such high esteem. The poker game turns out to be illegal although Molly is careful about operating within the scope of the law. Her access to large sums of money makes her a target later for underworld criminals and there is no one to protect her except her own wits fueled by copious amounts of drugs and alcohol. It is at this point after a vicious attack that she realizes she is over her head. Molly is an unattached woman who is desired and eventually used exploited and assaulted by men. When she resorts to counsel she is still the brilliant and astute woman she has always been, the woman her father could not bully or intimidate along with the other players except when she is criminally assaulted. Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom is a smart, vulnerable and humble player who comes to terms with her life in film that gives us reasons and explanations, illustrating numerous aspects of her game and how she is able to navigate a group of men including the FBI and stay in control.
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| Jessica Chastain holds her own in a sea of male gamblers. |
When Molly Bloom took a serious tumble in competitive skiing, her career as a professional athlete came to an end. With her name and reputation, she went on to create a high stakes poker game under her own rules and conditions. We discover this at the beginning of the film when she has been arrested and is being prosecuted by the FBI for illegal gambling. Acquiring a good lawyer is part of her plan to vindicate herself, and she is able to convince the brilliant defense attorney Charles Jaffey (Idris Elba) to take on her case as an innocent clean and sober client. He is most persuaded however by his teenage daughter who has read about Molly Bloom’s games and considers her a feminist hero. The uncredited role of Jaffey’s daughter is important as it was at about this age Molly Bloom was forced to take a turn in a promising career. This young girl remains throughout the film with flashbacks and the process of coming to restitution with her formative years.
Kevin Costner plays a father who pushes Molly to excel beyond her abilities yet she is a worthy adversary to his browbeating demeanor. The script is brilliant in replicating past and present not only through images but engaging and thought-provoking dialogue. The rapport between Chastain and Elba is brilliant.
The cast of poker players in positions of power and wealth that Molly directs confirms why Jaffey's daughter holds her in such high esteem. The poker game turns out to be illegal although Molly is careful about operating within the scope of the law. Her access to large sums of money makes her a target later for underworld criminals and there is no one to protect her except her own wits fueled by copious amounts of drugs and alcohol. It is at this point after a vicious attack that she realizes she is over her head. Molly is an unattached woman who is desired and eventually used exploited and assaulted by men. When she resorts to counsel she is still the brilliant and astute woman she has always been, the woman her father could not bully or intimidate along with the other players except when she is criminally assaulted. Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom is a smart, vulnerable and humble player who comes to terms with her life in film that gives us reasons and explanations, illustrating numerous aspects of her game and how she is able to navigate a group of men including the FBI and stay in control.
© 2017 - Moira Sullivan - Airdate 12/27/17
Movie Magazine International
Movie Magazine International
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