Molly's Game

"Molly's Game" was supposed to be a much bigger deal than it ended up. The directorial debut of celebrated writer and creator Aaron Sorkin based on a true story with a strong and charismatic lead. This is the type of story that Sorkin made a name for himself executing with zeal and it was poised to be an awards contender, but then, nothing happened. Was it that an untethered Sorkin, where he oversees both the written word and the images that get on screen, was just too much Sorkin? Maybe a bit.

We were always supposed to the know the name Molly Bloom, just not quite under these circumstances. Bloom was poised to be an Olympic skier, but a freak accident ended up cutting her career before it had the chance to really take off. The hit forces Molly to take a step back and reexamine her life. She decides to hold off on her plans of law school and live a little in Los Angeles. While working as a bottle-service waitress she runs into the gruff and demanding Dean. Seeing something in Molly, Dean hires her as his office manager. One random night, Dean has Molly run his weekly high-roller poker game. Showing a special talent for managing the players, poker soon becomes Molly's only responsibility and starts her down a path of big egos, large wallets, and criminal action.

As is to be expected with a script from Aaron Sorkin, it is fast-paced, wordy, and exceptionally smart. Sorkin knows how to write extremely intellectual characters and Molly Bloom is no exception. Jessica Chastain shows herself to be particularly adept at bringing Sorkin's words to life, a task that can occasionally be quite difficult. For the most part, "Molly's Game" is as good as its script. It is intriguing, witty, and tension-filled. The film's biggest issue is that Sorkin is a bit unrestrained now that he's sitting in the director's chair. Its runtime is bloated by a predilection for monologues held by the majority of its characters. Sure, it's pretty great to see acting juggernauts like Chastain and Idris Elba delivering page long screeds from the mind of Sorkin, but it has the tendency to be a bit much. It doesn't ruin the movie, but it certainly reveals the potential folly of the writer-director role.

While the film itself can be self-indulgent and overlong, the Blu-ray release is another thing entirely. As I turned over the box to see the listing of special features, I saw something that nearly made me break out laughing. "Molly's Game" does not have special features, it has one special feature. Oh, assuredly if there is only one special feature, it must be lengthy and fantastic. Nope, not at all. The lone feature, "Building an Empire," is just over three minutes of textbook Blu-ray fluff (made all the worse by the fact that you can essentially find it on YouTube). Making matters worse is a digital copy of the film that is stuck on iTunes rather than using a cloud streaming option that has become nearly standard in the industry. "Molly's Game" is a very good film, that deserved an Academy Award at least for Jessica Chastain's performance. It is more than worth your time, but this Blu-ray release is a joke.

"Molly's Game"
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD
https://www.universalpictures.com/
$34.98