SHE’S THE REAL DEAL
Chastain comes up aces in real-life Poker Princess tale
‘MOLLY’S Game,” the new highstakes poker movie, is a pretty safe bet.
The crime drama is smartly written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, it features a piercing lead performance by Jessica Chastain and it’s got something for almost everyone: from gambling and glitterati to the Mafia and ice skating.
But if you walk in thinking a “rake” is for leaves and “fish” is for tartar sauce, “Molly’s Game” can drag in spots.
The movie tells the true story of “Poker Princess” Molly Bloom, a 35-year-old woman who, after an injury, went from being a nationally recognized professional skier to running a $100 million gambling ring. The gorgeous host’s weekly events, held in Los Angeles and Manhattan luxury hotel suites, at- tracted the likes of Tobey Maguire and A-Rod (although they’re not named in the movie).
Bloom eventually gets into trouble with the law. Two years after she leaves the game, the FBI arrests her at home, and it’s up to her lawyer, Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba), to protect her from a potential fiveyear prison sentence.
The most interesting question of “Molly’s Game”: Was Bloom, despite appearances, abiding by the law? Either way, you give her your unwavering support. It’s not unlike what Sorkin did with Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network,” suggesting that something greater was at work than these judges or attorneys could understand.
Here, Sorkin clearly wants to recapture the success of his 2010 Facebook origin story, which starred Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg. Like the Facebook founder, Bloom has a supercomputer mind, rapid-fire speech, disdain for authority and a penchant for trouble. Both protagonists even retell their stories to lawyers. But Facebook, a service that more than 2 billion people use, is much more universal than poker. And “The Social Network” is a better movie than “Molly’s Game.”
Still, Chastain is a more interest-
ing actor than Eisenberg — and the No. 1 reason to see the film.
She’s cagey with her feelings, direct as a nail gun with her intentions and every one of her smiles is a methodical maneuver to get exactly what she wants. She’s also the life of the party: The powerful men who attend her poker games — played by, among others, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Cera and Chris O’Dowd — tend to fall in love with her. When she abandons the employer who first got her involved with poker early in the film, Bloom’s clients willingly follow her like lemmings — albeit lemmings with offshore bank accounts.
One particularly difficult scene, in which Chastain gets violently roughed up, will be tough for some viewers to take. But it’s a vital moment. For it’s the first time we get a glimpse at the grime beneath the glamour.
Many sexy and extravagant pleasures, like Molly’s game, go above the law. But so, too, do many truly dangerous criminals. In the end, Bloom discovers she’s in the same boat with that lot — and it’s game over.