I resisted watching this because of a distaste I have for Molly Bloom, the real Molly Bloom. She’s extremely self-involved and remorseless. So damn you Aaron Sorkin for getting nominated and forcing me to watch this. Well, okay, since it stars Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, it wasn’t a total boycott, but still, I was reluctant. Especially reluctant after being subjected to the trailer numerous times in which Molly asks a little girl “Do you know how many witches were burned at Salem?” and when the kid shrugs, she says none – they weren’t burned, they were hanged or drowned or stoned. But something in me rebelled angrily at this line; the answer is right, none were burned, but that’s because witches never existed. It was women who were burned or hanged or stoned.
Anyway, you may or may not know that Molly Bloom ran a bunch of illegal poker games, made oodles of money, and then get raided, her cash seized, and she was indicted. Facing court, and jail, she wrote a book about it, and named names.
Molly isn’t particularly likable. She thinks she’s smart and she tells you she is constantly. She could have gone to law school, you know. And probably should have. But the money was so easy, and so plentiful! And movie stars played the poker (and the Russian mob, but never mind that). She’s guilty and she’s greedy but she’s also tough as hell. Chastain taps into her resiliency , her intelligence, her strength. Idris Elba plays her “not a little bit shady” lawyer, and he’s a perfect sparring partner. Aaron Sorkin’s scripts are meaty and lesser actors may be felled by them but Chastain and Elba are not just equal to it, they master it. It’s impressive.
Aaron Sorkin isn’t just the screen writer on this, he also steps into director’s shoes for the first time. Swinging for realism, he stacked the lesser roles with real poker players, wanting even the way they handled cards to look authentic. In between takes, the actors would play poker with the real players. Extras, usually paid about $90 a day, would often leave the set the best paid people there.
Sorkin is a smart guy with a lot of famous friends; he asked for and received great advice and support from David Fincher (a Social Network collaborator) and from Kevin Costner, who stars as Bloom’s father. The story is intriguing and well-suited to Sorkin’s abilities, but the movie runs a little long and isn’t terribly cinematic (there’s a lot of sitting in a lawyer’s office, which, not coincidentally, is located in the fictional firm of Gage Whitney, which fans of Sorkin’s will recognize from The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and The Newsroom.
The movie didn’t change my mind about Molly but it certainly cements Chastain and Elba as razor sharp, a cut above. If you like Sorkin’s zingy TV stuff, you’ll like this just fine. It’s not a best picture contender but it’s got some damn fine performances.
So, was Molly Bloom a witch, or just a woman?
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Great review. Most entertaining film about narcissisistic addicts since Wolf of Wall Street! Chastain was so good!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Never heard of Molly Bloom but I’d give this a watch for those actors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really liked this movie, but mostly for the performances as you described. Chastain was great in Miss Sloane too.
LikeLike
I enjoyed this review. I agree about Molly. Enjoyed reading about the behind the camera card playing.
LikeLike
It’s funny, I saw this movie feeling all pumped up, Aaron Sorkin, Jessica Chastain what’s not to like, but the film never engaged me. I actually fell asleep for about 10 minutes, and for someone with insomnia – that says a lot! 🙂 Harlon
LikeLike
Yeah, it really feels a bit more like a play – it’s very stationary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like you, I’ve resisted seeing this one as the real Molly isn’t so high in my books. But I ought to let that go and try to enjoy the artistic aspects of the film… We’ll see, if I see it 😉
LikeLike
Yeah, I realize how hypocritical I’ve been. I mean, I’ve watched plenty of WW2 flicks, and I’m not exactly crazy about that Hitler character. 😉
LikeLike
I really liked this film, but I also didn’t know much about Molly beforehand other than I think she was in her 20’s when she did all this?
LikeLike
Yeah, she was young AND SHE WAS SO, SO SMART GUYS!
LikeLike
I agree with fragglerocking’s comment: having also never hears of Molly Bloom, I would watch this solely for the actors involved 😊😊
LikeLike
“A witch! A witch!”, said the crowd in one scene in Monty Python & The Holy Grail.
LikeLike
This was one of those movies that I had no idea about. For some reason, it passed me by entirely. And I’m usually aware of the movies in the theaters.
LikeLike
Never heard of this Molly Bloom, so had to Google her. Wiki entry says she’s a ‘former American poker entrepreneur’. Entrepreneur, eh? Illegal gambling… looks to have landed on her feet, right enough – a movie and a Wikipedia page.
LikeLike
Jay….Jay…Jay. Spoiler alert. 😦 I mean I know it was probably in the news at the time but I had no idea. I thought the point was she wouldn’t talk.
LikeLike
I mean, yeah, it’s based on her best selling book, so I think the secret’s out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Only if you read books Jay. 🙂
LikeLike
I like Chastain so will give this a watch at some point.
LikeLike
Your take on Chastain and Elba is spot-on. “razor sharp, a cut above” indeed.
LikeLike
Pingback: Oscar Nominations 2018 | ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES
I agree with your review. I also found the movie lacking of focus and not bearing much toward any particular point, and I was left only feeling that Sorkin admired Bloom but why should I.
LikeLike