(spoiler free)
Aaron Sorkin has been writing top class screenplays for years now. His recent work has elevated such films as ‘The Social Network’ and ‘Steve Jobs’ into five star territory. New biopic, ‘Molly’s Game’ sees the famous screenwriter also take on the directing duties for the first time in his career. Would this increased tasking work for the benefit of the picture or would Sorkin struggle to maintain his incredibly high standard of writing as a result of also directing?
Narratively speaking ‘Molly’s Game’ tells the true story of Molly Bloom, an American poker entrepreneur known for running high stakes poker games for the rich and famous. Bloom is played by the wonderful Jessica Chastain who has had numerous notable roles in the past few years, it’s no wonder why she’s been selected to portray Bloom here. She’s predictably excellent in this demanding role, in which there really is nowhere to hide. She dominates the screen making her character effortlessly believable. She’s simultaneously compelling maintaining the audience’s attention even when the poker jargon gets a little too heavy or moves too fast. Chastain is masterful in finding the fine line between portraying her character as formidable yet incredibly vulnerable and as a result it’s impossible not to take to her and her performance. It’s Hollywood bingo where the rest of the cast is concerned with countless big names filling the remaining roles. Idris Elba deserves the most credit portraying Bloom’s lawyer, Charlie Jaffey. He creates a great back and forth with Chastain and consistently compliments the developing drama.
The story itself is an interesting one, thanks to the compelling performance of Chastain it doesn’t matter that the narrative takes it’s time. Furthermore, it’s constructed very well, layering several different time periods into one coherent story. The film doesn’t feel miles away from Chastain’s last picture, ‘Miss Sloane’. You could easily have mistaken Jonathan Perera’s screenplay for one of Sorkin’s. Just like Perera’s fast-paced, dense and enthralling screenplay present in ‘Miss Sloane’ Sorkin produces a similarly fantastic screenplay here which is essential for the success of ‘Molly’s Game’. On occasions it’s maybe slightly too speedy, especially if you’re unfamiliar with poker however this isn’t a major issue as the focus of the narrative is always broader and this is made easily accessible to the audience. You’ll hang off every word penned by Sorkin and even more so thanks to Chastain’s impressive delivery of them. Sorkin hasn’t let the strain of directing detract from his writing and he does a tremendous job at juggling both of these massive responsibilities, bringing to life his own words in a highly engaging manner.
So in answer to my question, Sorkin’s direction, as well as his writing, has most definitely benefited the picture. ‘Molly’s Game’ is a special collaboration of two artists at the top of their respective games, Chastain and Sorkin are two of the most exciting names working in the film industry today and this biopic is conclusive evidence of their talents.
Written by Hamish Calvert
Rating – 8/10
Question: What is your favourite Aaron Sorkin screenplay?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)
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