The brilliant Aaron Sorkin film Molly’s Game’is becoming a cult classic. Based on a true story, here is why it is so brilliant. Having penned acclaimed dramas featuring his distinctive voice and style, Aaron Sorkin has carved out a niche for himself in the world of screenwriting. In his directorial debut, Molly’s Game, he also explored the world of playwriting. An Olympic skier turned prolific high-stakes gambling entrepreneur, Molly Bloom is the star of Molly’s Game, a movie based on a true story. Sorkin was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay for the film, which was well-received. With online poker, movies, games, being so popular, it is no wonder that Molly’s Game has become such a cult classic.
She began working a variety of jobs in Los Angeles while taking a year off between undergrad and law school, including working as a cocktail waitress and executive assistant for real estate entrepreneur Darin Feinstein, one of the co-owners of the Hollywood nightclub The Viper Room (renamed The Cobra Lounge in the movie). Then Feinstein told Molly that he would need her assistance with the poker game. So Molly went home and searched for info, telling her, “What kind of music do poker players listen to?” and “What kind of food do they like to eat?”
The Spin on the Crime Genre
Molly’s Game is primarily a crime drama with smart writing. While it contains a significant number of legal scenes, as in many other Sorkin scripts, the film is really good for its suave gambling scenes. It appears that the genre of crime films has become oversaturated by films about the Mafia. A few films, like The Wolf of Wall Street, are original when it comes to financial crime and money laundering.
Similarly, Molly’s Game makes good use of fast-paced editing and an engaging voiceover to present a drama about gambling that does have some aspects of it but avoids the usual trappings.
The Transformation of the Main Character
The characters Aaron Sorkin creates (fictional or real-life) are primarily egotistic males, who are not the most ideal role models. Sorkin reinvents himself in Molly’s Game, a story about an ambitious woman who isn’t a perfect role model. He captures her transformation through empathetic writing. Initially, she interns for brash businessmen and lawyers, only to manage money and host games for such insensitive men with fat paychecks and fragile egos.
The film amplifies Molly’s struggles by adding the element of a dominating, burdening father (played expertly by Kevin Costner) to Molly Bloom’s internal struggles.
The Lead Performance of Jessica Chastain
Molly’s Game is a movie in which Jessica Chastain brilliantly captures the highs and lows of Molly Bloom’s life. Her performance has even been regarded as one of her best performances ever.
Throughout the film, she embodies a number of moods. Having suffered an injury that has affected her sports career, she feels helpless from the very start. Then a charming socialite begins to turn her life around. Having been threatened with legal action for her illegal activities, she again shows perfectly how fragile she is emotionally. Jessica Chastain manages to keep the movie on track using the great dialogue from Aaron Sorkin.
The Amazing Editing
Films like The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short, which deal with finance, have fast-paced editing similar to what is seen in the crime drama. There are four editors involved in the project: Eliot Graham, Alan Baumgarten, ACE, and Josh Schaeffer.
In addition to Sorkin’s rapid-fire writing style, the editing in Molly’s Game makes the film thoroughly captivating from beginning to end. This Sorkin script was rife with character interplay and shifting timelines, which is a hallmark of his work. In this sense, his directorial debut was certainly made worthwhile by his editing.
The Blend of Genres
In Molly’s Game, Sorkin does not follow the straightforward path of being confined to one genre, as he has previously experimented with legal dramas and biopics.
In its own right, the film is an adrenaline-filled ride that blends several genres, including crime drama, legal thriller, biography, and even some comedy thrown in. Chastain features wit and emotion in her screen presence, while Costner represents classic family drama themes. Legal jargon is used in the film with Idris Elba playing the role of Molly’s lawyer. As a result, the unconventional biopic smoothly transitions between genres.
