4. Molly's Game; movie review

MOLLY'S GAME
Cert 15
140 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, drug misuse, brief violence

As regular readers will know, at the bottom of each everyfilm review there is a template which records how many laughs a movie elicits.
After watching Molly's Game, I am tempted to alter the measure to apply to members of the audience.
I feared that a patron, sitting alone in the second row of screen seven of Nottingham Cineworld, might expire such was the raucousness of his merriment at what was actually quite a serious film.
I should have asked him when he was next attending a genuine comedy because I think his reaction may be as entertaining as what is on the big screen.
There is no section on my template for wry smiles which is what the occasionally mildly amusing dialogue elicited from Mrs W and me.
Indeed, I was rather envious of the funny bone of the gentleman in the second row.

Nevertheless, despite not falling about like hyenas in the aisles, we were agreed that this was a very solid 8/10 movie.
Molly's Game benefits from being an entertaining true story, played by a first rate cast, led by the charismatic Jessica Chastain who is on screen for all of its two hours and 20 minutes.
Yes, this is another of the growing number of movies which risk sending the bum numb.
On the plus side, it is never dull for a second but it does require intense concentration to follow a storyline, held together by a rapid-fire narration.
Chastain plays Molly Bloom, a near-Olympic-standard skier whose career is wrecked by injury.
Fortunately, her intellect matches her athletic prowess but instead of going to law school, she finds herself as a bit-part player in high stakes poker games.
And that is when it occurs to her to run the games herself and become embroiled in a web which sees her arrested by the FBI.
This is not a plot giveaway. The opening scene is a raid by officers investigating offences linked to the Russian mob in New York.
In parallel to her story being told is her legal battle spearheaded by a lawyer (Idris Elba) who discovers she has a rather higher moral code than he had expected.
Elba and Chastain are at the centre of many of the scenes which so tickled the gentleman in the second row but she also shares key moments with Mollie's gambling regulars (Chris O'Dowd and Michael Cera) and her dad (Kevin Costner).
There is a swagger to Molly's Game... wealth drips from almost every scene either in terms of the wagers or the surroundings.
It's a movie during which detail is key - and when understanding of both poker and high finance would help but is not imperative.
Will it win Chastain on Oscar? I am not so sure but I wouldn't be surprised if she were in the mix.

Reasons to watch: Gold-plated performance by Jessica Chastain
Reasons to avoid: High levels of concentration needed

Laughs: none (or 33 from the gentleman in the second row)
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none 
Overall rating: 8/10

Director's quote: Aaron Sorkin - This movie is about someone who did the right thing when they could have got so much money, when they could have got so much fame and could have got out of trouble.

The big question: Why do people with lots of money gamble?

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