Molly's Game

  This new drama is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, a young woman who ran high stakes underground poker games involving celebrities and mobsters, who was finally busted by the FBI. The film tells her story criss-crossing timelines and is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.

        Starring as Molly Bloom is the remarkable Jessica Chastain, who excels at these types of roles. This film will most likely get her another Oscar nomination. Her co-star is Idris Elba, who plays her lawyer, Charlie Jaffey. Both actors are more than up for the challenge of Mr. Sorkin's rapid fire dialog and have great chemistry. Also co-starring is Kevin Costner, as Molly's father and Michael Cera as one of Molly's very important poker clients. Mr. Cera may seem an odd choice for the role of Mr. X but he is very believeable in a serious role.

        Ms. Bloom got her 15 minutes of fame back when her story broke in the tabloids. Her memoir brought more moments in the spotlight and now with the release of the film, people will be talking about her again. It's an intriguing story and a fascinating look into the world of underground high stakes poker but Ms. Bloom herself doesn't really warrant your attention any longer than the running time of this film.

        The scenes of verbal jousting in Mr. Jaffey's office and in the courtroom are the best and Mr. Sorkin directs with the same razor sharp clarity and wit of his writing. He is intent on giving us a look into Molly's psyche in a few too many flashbacks and the film could have been shorter but it's always fun to watch talented actors vocalize his words. It's a sharp screenplay and as played by Ms. Chastain, Molly certainly appears to be a bigger than life character. It's these two elements that make Molly's story so appealing and the film that more entertaining.