Molly's Game: boisterous fun, but ultimately deceiving

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2018)

Can a film have too much energy? Be too lively? Those are the thoughts that ran through my head after watching Molly's Game. It seems to have too much vigour, too much rhythm. We often complain that a film doesn't have enough, but this seems to be a rare case - it suffers at the opposite end of the spectrum. It tried to be exciting through giving too much, in too little time, and as a result, it has a suffocating effect. Even at 2.5 hours running time, the film felt rushed - as it determines to tell Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain)'s whole life story, from her early skiing endeavours, to her first jobs, her hosting high stake/profile underground poker games and her court case. It is quite exhausting as we weren't given much opportunities to breathe, and trying to make sense of everything.
At a glance, her story is a fascinating one - enough for a memoir to be written and published. Trained to become an Olympic skier, she pulled out after sustaining severe injuries. Under the strict upbringing by her father (Kevin Costner) Discipline and determination has always been a significant part of her life, and she took this on with every aspect of her life - sometimes blindly. When the opportunity came to assist in hosting underground poker tournaments for celebrities and wealthy individuals, she embraced the idea with curiosity and enthusiasm, and eventually, starting her own company to host these games. When her clients started to include business men and mob members that are involved in illegal financial /money laundering schemes, she was arrested and charged. I think the film incites a very interesting thought - was what she did really a deplorable crime in society today? Casinos today do theoretically practice the same 'crime'.
This is writer Aaron Sorkin's first film as director. He also wrote the screenplay for 'the Social Network' - which was about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and he employs a similar storytelling approach here - Molly narrates her story through a court case - in this case to her lawyer (Idris Elba). And yet something feels missing. Perhaps it's the dominant focus on Chastain, and we never fully explore the story from other perspectives, causing its unbalance. We are bombarded with a poker game after another, though the games are alluring, and fun, and we are introduced to some interesting characters (in particular Bill Camp as Harlan and Brian d'Arcy James as bad Brad), the fun dissolves after a while and the characters are quickly forgotten. It seems Sorkin is determined to swiftly move from one thing to the next thing and never really stays in the present long enough. As a result, the film loses its central stability and impact. As the film progresses, I was yearning for something more delicious - the suspense is sustained well, but it's not nurtured towards something more compelling.
Both Chastain and Elba gave searing performances - it is admirable how they could both speak with such impressive speed and precision! Jesse Eisenberg gave a similar performance as Zuckerberg - perhaps that has become the norm now for Sorkin's writing - this lightning speed execution. The script is sharp and incisive, rightfully reflecting Sorkin's written acuity. Even though Chastain and Elba's intensely explosive performance give firepower and temper to Sorkin's words, it is not quite enough for an affecting film. Their commanding screen presence and passionate interactions make their scenes together quite enthralling, but it adds a little too much fuel to the film's existing zeal.
Through paying too much attention to the glamour and the thrill of poker, Molly's Game really missed the opportunity to offer us insight into Molly's mind and motivations, apart from whether she should be charged. Maybe Sorkin realised this too, and towards the end, he managed to insert a rather quick therapy session between Molly and her father where Costner tries to analyse and diagnose Molly's mental struggles and the causes for her actions. What he said about Molly wanting to exert power over powerful men made some logical sense to me, however, it was dismissive and lacked careful analysis - just like the film itself. It seemed Sorkin hastily tried to simplify a potentially complex personality, without truly revealing Molly's vulnerable side. She has for most of her life, crafted an impenetrable armour to protect herself, and to hide her true emotions. Chastain cheekily gives us a rare glimpse of her inner turmoil - but it is too rare for us to relate to her.
Molly's Game is boisterous, entertaining, but it fails to build links that bring us to the real Molly. Without being emotionally attuned to her, the film feels like a conventional poker film. In fact, it is almost like a poker game itself - on the surface, it's alluring and exciting, but ultimately it is quite deceiving. After the curiosity dissolves, we are left with its desiccated core.