With 39 nominations and three wins so far, Molly’s Game is the true story of Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier whose life drastically changed course because of a stick in the snow. She went from Olympic hopeful to running the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game in New York City for a decade before the big bust and her arrest in the middle of the night. The star-studded cast includes Golden Globe best actress winner, Jessica Chastain, Golden Globe for best performance winner, Idris Elba, and Academy Award Winner Kevin Costner. It was written for the screen and directed by Aaron Sorkin based on the book written by Molly Bloom.
Molly’s Game is a thought-provoking deep dive into the world of poker and the hold gambling takes over people. It is also a story which highlights addiction to power and control as it plays out in the life of Molly Bloom. As deep and dark as the story is, and with the number of people who can and do get hurt because of gambling, it was quite surprising to watch how Molly refused to snitch or compromise her integrity when it came to keeping the secrets of her players. The movie is long, 2 hours 20 minutes, but always moving. I thought the movie was good, not great.
In an interview published on Vice.com with the real Molly Bloom, she speaks to the reasons she maintained a level of integrity and moral fiber in a very dark and underground world. The movie did an excellent job of portraying these behavioral characteristics. My friend, Tendayi, felt it was “an endearing movie that told the tale of a very complex world. Like a cleaned up version of a very dark song.”
Movie times: click here
Genre: Drama/Crime Film based on a true story
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Actors: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera
Running Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Rating: R rated
