Molly's Game

The West Wing originally aired in 1999, and, despite my casual commitment to television shows, I watched it on a weekly basis.  I still watch the early seasons on a consistently sporadic basis (see above commitment issues) and each episode somehow becomes more important as the years trundle on.  It will surprise no one when I confess that I stopped watching The West Wing circa early season five, but I’d seen enough to know that Aaron Sorkin is a name that would motivate me to leave the house and attend an early evening showing on, gasp, a Friday evening.  Molly’s Game was not only written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, it also had the added benefit of staring the Jessica Chastain, a firm favourite.

As this is a film based on real-life events I feel obliged to mention that I have no idea how diligently Molly’s Game stuck to the facts. I don’t particularly care.  Although, I have decided that Michael Cera was Player X in both the film and real life.  If Cera showed up on my doorstep to deny this, I would refuse to believe him.

PLOT:  After suffering a career ending accident during a skiing competition Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) moves to LA to start afresh and stumbles into the world of big-money Poker.  Bloom successfully grows her business empire and skirts the edges of legality before being arrested by the FBI due to a passing connection with the Russian mob.  END PLOT

The film opens with Molly’s arrest and the poker scenes play out in the form of flashbacks while Molly is telling her story to various lawyers.  Unfortunately, the court and poker scenes lacked tension, and even though it was Molly’s freedom that was in jeopardy, the stakes always felt a bit on the low side.  What saved Molly’s Game, was the cast.

Jessica Chastain has been a favourite for a long time and it has been too long since I have seen her on the big screen.  Chastain was excellent as Molly Bloom and carried the film with ease.  Bloom herself is still a bit of a mystery as I don’t quite understand why she was so desperate to protect her clients and as I am unlikely to read her book, I will forget about her fairly quickly. 

Idris Elba is solid as Bloom’s lawyer and he gets to have a few ‘for your consideration’ moments too.  Somewhat surprisingly, it is Kevin Costner who almost steals the show as Bloom’s overbearing father and his therapy scene with Jessica Chastain is the film’s standout moment. 

Sorkin’s dialogue was fast paced and there were a few witty quips that felt comfortably familiar in style and tone.  All that was missing was Allison Janney.  Is Molly’s Game the best screenplay Sorkin has written? No, but it still lands well above the average January release.

Molly’s Game was a very decent watch and cemented by love for all the major players involved, and, hilariously, Michael Cera.  It was well worth braving a trip to the cinema on a Friday night but it just lacked, something.  I don't know what.  Molly’s Game gets 8/10, but I suspect that come February, I will have forgotten all about it.

Ides of March

The latter half of 2011 has given us quite a lot of Ryan Gosling and I am quite surprised just how little he was on my radar prior to September of this year.  October sees yet another Gosling release with Ides of March.

PLOT:  Stephen (Ryan Gosling) is an idealistic young political consultant working on the campaign of Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) in a bid to have him become the Democratic nominee for the presidency.  Stephen agrees to meet with Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) the campaign manager of Morris’ opponent and from there a series of events snowballs which leads to Stephen being fired from the campaign.  Stephen must decide whether or not he is prepared to stick to his morals or get immersed in the dirty world of politics and get the man he once admired into the White House.  END PLOT

The film is written and directed by George Clooney and whilst the plot is purposefully slow it still manages to be very engaging.  The problem is the script wasn’t written by Aaron Sorkin, who is no stranger to political dialogue, and therefore it lacked the punch it needed to really lift the film.

Ryan Gosling is quickly becoming one of those actors who say very little but can portray so much with a look.  If Gosling chooses his next couple of roles wisely he is suddenly going to find himself having a very respectable career indeed.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was very good as Stephen’s campaign manager Paul however Paul Giamatti stole the show as Tom Duffy.  The way that Tom played, outsmarted and defeated Stephen was very devious and Giamatti does play an intelligent villain very well.

George Clooney is George Clooney in an over extended cameo.  This is not a compliment. 

Although Clooney’s script wasn’t as strong as the film’s tone required he didn’t fare too badly on the directing front.  There were two exceptionally well put together shots the first being between Governor Morris and Paul. 

This particular conversation takes place inside a car and although the audience already knows the outcome of the discussion the camera stays outside and we do not hear or see what is being said.  I found myself trying to peer in through heavily tinted windows to get a glimpse of what was going on – there was no music at this stage so the tension was very high.

The second would be the final shot which ended with a voiceover from Morris speaking about integrity and honesty, the main themes of the film, with Stephen staring straight down the camera lens at the audience.  I absolutely loved this moment.

Ides of March is such a slow paced film with all the drama taking place in a hushed manner that I fear people will either love it or hate it - I absolutely loved it and the film gets a very strong 8/10.   That being said I do not think that Ides of March is strong enough for any Oscar nominations although with stronger scripting it may have stood a chance.  If anything Ides of March solidifies the acting talent of those involved and by those involved I mean anyone who is not George Clooney.