by alexwrightmovieman

DIR: Aaron Sorkin

CAST: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O’Dowd, Bill Camp

Writing savant Aaron Sorkin makes his directing debut with a perfect subject for the Sorkin treatment: The Poker Princess, Molly Bloom. For those unfamiliar, Bloom was a real life purveyor of a high stakes underground poker game involving some of the wealthiest, most powerful, and occasionally most famous gambling degenerates on the planet. And for those unfamiliar with the Sorkin treatment, probably best on display in the fantastically fictionalized The Social Network, it is taking the world these extraordinary people occupy and amplify their interactions with unrelenting, fast paced dialogue that could be spoken only by those smart enough to be in a room with the likes of the founders of Facebook, or, in this case, pretty much anyone Molly welcomes to a card game. Played by a wonderfully casted Jessica Chastain, Bloom narrates her rise to this unique position by starting with her father (Costner), who coached Molly and her brothers to be as successful as possible in life, no matter the human or emotional cost it may incur. Though once a successful skier on the verge of becoming an Olympian, injuries provided other plans for the ambitious Molly. She lands in Hollywood, where every one has dreams, but rarely do things play out as they should. After working a while for a sleazy real estate jerk (Strong), she ends up being a sort of concierge for his poker game. She quickly develops a knack for hosting these men, providing discreet pleasures from showgirls, to their favorite scotches, to making sure they are always taken care of and listened to. Because for men like this, it is rarely, if ever, about winning some money. They already have all the money in the world. It is about power, winning, and the adrenaline of taking someone else’s money and self worth. Bloom finds out that, in her new position, in some strange way, she has power over these powerful men. She gets a taste for it the same way her clients get when they win a big hand, and don’t want to stop. Unfortunately, for those who understand the finer details of gambling, if you don’t know when to fold and go home, you eventually end up losing your shirt (or cocktail dress). What Molly is doing is technically not legal (a lot of emphasis is put on the word ‘technically’ here), and her increasingly brazen operations get the attention of both the FBI and the Russian Mafia. She eventually gets busted, and picks a high power lawyer to defend her; Charlie Jaffey (Elba), a man whose mission seems to be figuring out his new client as a way to figure out how to raise his own young daughter living in a man’s world. Sorkin may be a first time director, but he no stranger to the Hollywood feel of glitz and glamor, nor is he a stranger in understanding how power and greed can drive individuals to do some pretty crazy things. Every scene is like a hand ready to be played. Every time we see Molly, we root for her and fear for her, not knowing what the player next to her holds. It is clear that, much like the real life Bloom, there are times where her quest for greatness gets her into trouble and in over her head, leading to her eventual downfall. She went all in, and lost. Or did she? Sorkin seems to have a strong affinity for unconventional figures who won big in life only to lose it all spectacularly (and often publicly). Like Sean Parker, the inventor of the music torrent site Napster, another Sorkin character based on a real individual, pointed out in The Social Network, “I may have lost in court to the record labels, but do you really want to invest in Tower Records?”. Bloom never became a medalist on the podium, and she likely lost all her money, credibility, and friends after her arrest. But how many others can say they got a memoir adapted by one of cinema’s greatest living screenwriters? As they say, you got to play to win. And for games like Molly’s, it’s all or nothing. Rated R.