(note: I am challenging myself to write every day for 30 days. What follows may not necessarily be interesting or even coherent. Parental discretion is advised.)
An ex-Olympic hopeful who broke her back shifted gears to become an organizer and promoter of high-stakes poker games which included celebrities and powerful politicians playing to the tune of hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars. She rises, she falls, she rises, she falls and then gets entangled with the mob and FBI and lawsuits.
I’m describing Molly Bloom, who is played by Jessica Chastain in “Molly’s Game” which I watched on Netflix last week and is still leaving an impression, flickering into my mind here and there.
I loved this film. It worked as a character study, had danger and intrigue, it was an underdog story, the acting was believable, the music complemented scenes well, cinematography was great and to top it all off, it was a film that placed feminists and strong women in a positive light despite the exploitation of men but really, they exploited themselves and a woman happened to be around to cash in on their drama.
But yes. Unlike the many films out there today that feature “girl power” in which men are dummies and women are incredibly powerful and intelligent — Molly’s Game is the true story of Molly Bloom and there was no need for excessive dramatization in order to portray her as powerful and intelligent. She IS powerful and intelligent. Check out this interview of her on Ellen.
Powerful. Intelligent. Ruthless. Ambitious. Beautiful. Strong.
All the qualities of a real life empowered woman that did not need to be turned into a “Mary Sue” like Daisy Ridley in Star Wars was. *grumbles*
Molly’s Game clicked for me on many different levels. The drama really came from how Jessica Chastain projected her energy onto the screen by keeping her character consistent and singularly-focused throughout. You always knew that Molly was after money and that everything else around her was more or less a blur to be ignored in the face of her ambitions. But throughout, she kept her integrity and stayed within the limits of the law despite the many accusations she had to defend herself against.
One of the more surprising moments in the movie for me came after I looked into Molly’s story to see who the fictionalized characters were. For instance, check out the following clip and imagine Tobey McGuire in place of Michael Cera.
Because that is actually what it was. Ever wondered what happened to Tobey McGuire? His 22 minutes of fame didn’t evaporate of his own volition, no, Molly’s Game is the real reason why we aren’t seeing Tobey in films as much as we used to. Thank God, I didn’t care for his acting at all. He sounded like someone with Down’s syndrome.
No worries on my casual judgmental insult because if you’ve seen Molly’s Game, you’ll understand how deserving Tobey is of being taken down a peg or two, or three.
It isn’t just Jessica Chastain and Michael Cera who bring these characters to life in a magnificent way, but Kevin Costner also does a fantastic job as Molly’s father who has been relentless investing into the success of his daughter to the point of becoming abusive. The parallel to Joe Jackson (father of Michael), came to my mind while watching this. Costner portrays this emotionally-distant human being who vicariously lives through his kids and views their success as his own, regardless of the emotional damage he ends up causing. His character arc then reaches a satisfying resolution towards the end of the film where he and Molly reunites on a park bench after many years of absence between them. To hear him explain the reasons behind his actions was believable and a little heartbreaking.
This is substance over spectacle. This is GOOD film-making of the highest caliber.
And it is based on real-life events.
I often think about Hollywood and the executives that decide on which movies to make. Why are we seeing Transformers, Fast and the Furious or… Dr. Doolittle when real life is so much more compelling to draw from?
Of course, the answer is that Hollywood likes blockbuster money and people go to the movies to escape from real life — but there is escapism to be found in the real world as well.
For instance. The story of Philip K Dick’s transcendental experience could be as compelling a character study as it was for Russell Crowe portraying mathematician John Nash in A Beautiful Mind.
And… it boggles my mind why we haven’t seen David Lynch direct a black and white version of Nikola Tesla’s life. That would be such a sublime and interesting encapsulation of a brilliant mind and his eccentric life done by a brilliant and eccentric director. I would pay a hundred dollars in an instant if this project somehow showed up on Kickstarter. Lynch and Tesla in the style of the Elephant Man would be beyond awesome and would need a new word to describe how epic a film it could be.
I can think of many other figures of history and even contemporary persons whose lives would make for an entertaining experience on the big screen. There’s been a few films lately like Rocket Man, Bohemian Rhapsody but they lack the punch of the Social Network, Jackie, Malcom X or Molly’s Game.
What is so great about movies like Molly’s Game is that suspension of disbelief is more or less instantly attained. As long as there isn’t the disclaimer of “inspired by true events” and the film stays (mostly) true to the facts — it can become an educational experience as well.
Molly’s Game. Check it out. Support biopics. Recommend them to your friends. Be the guy that people smile at and say, “damn, I’m glad you told me about this one!” and enjoy the feeling of being hoisted in the air to wild applause once everyone sees how legit your tastes in films are.
Oh yeah. Idris Elba is in this and slays as Molly’s lawyer.
Need I say more?
