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Molly's Game is a 2017 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (in his directorial debut), based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Molly Bloom. It stars Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Joe Keery, Brian D'Arcy James, and Bill Camp.

Molly's Game
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Aaron Sorkin
Screenplay by	Aaron Sorkin
Based on	Molly's Game by Molly Bloom
Produced by	Mark Gordon Amy Pascal Matt Jackson
Starring	Jessica Chastain Idris Elba Kevin Costner Michael Cera Jeremy Strong Chris O'Dowd Bill Camp
Cinematography	Charlotte Bruus Christensen
Edited by	Alan Baumgarten Josh Schaeffer Elliot Graham
Music by	Daniel Pemberton
Production companies	STXfilms H. Brothers TMP The MG Company
Distributed by	STX Entertainment (United States) Sierra/Affinity (International)[1]
Release dates	September 8, 2017 (2017-09-08) (TIFF) December 25, 2017 (2017-12-25) (United States)
Running time	141 minutes [2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million [3]
Box office	$59.3 million [4]

The film follows Bloom (Chastain), who becomes the target of an FBI investigation after the underground poker empire she runs for Hollywood celebrities, athletes, business tycoons, and the Russian mob is exposed.

Principal photography began in November 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The film premiered on September 8, 2017, at the Toronto International Film Festival, and began a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2017, by STX Entertainment, before expanding wide on January 5, 2018, and grossed $59 million worldwide.

Molly's Game received positive reviews, with particular praise for Sorkin's screenplay, as well as Chastain and Elba's performances, with the former being considered one of the best of her career by some critics.[5] The film earned Chastain a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Drama,[6] while Sorkin earned nominations for his screenplay at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Writers Guild of America Awards, and BAFTA Awards.[7][8]

Plot

Molly Bloom is a world-class mogul skier with Olympic aspirations, thanks to years of enforced training from her overbearing father. In a qualifying event for the 2002 Winter Olympics, she is severely injured, ending her career.

Instead of attending law school immediately, Molly takes a year off and moves to LA. Becoming a bottle service waitress at a club, she soon meets Dean, an ostentatious but unsuccessful real estate developer. She becomes his office manager, and is soon involved in running his underground poker games at "The Cobra Lounge". Many famous and wealthy individuals, including movie stars, investment bankers, and sports players, are involved in Dean's game. Molly earns large sums of money in tips alone.

Initially unfamiliar with poker, Molly quickly learns how to appeal to the players for tips. In particular, she hopes to please the most successful player, a film star named Player X, by attracting new players to the game. Dean, upon seeing that Molly is becoming increasingly independent in running the games, attempts to control, and then fires her.

Molly, having contacts through years of running the game, creates her own poker games. She rents a hotel penthouse and hires a staff. Additionally, she contacts club and casino employees to spread the word about her games.

Player X, along with many others, leaves Dean's games to play at Molly's. Increasingly successful, as Molly gains more money she is pressured by Player X to raise the stakes. Harlan Eustice, a skilled, conservative, and successful player, joins Molly's game.

One night, after accidentally losing a hand to the notoriously worst player, Brad Marion, Harlan becomes increasingly compulsive, suffering heavy losses (later, Molly finds out that Player X, who enjoys ruining people's lives more than the game itself, has been funding him to keep him playing). After Molly berates him for his unethicality, Player X decides to change venue for his games, and the others join him, leaving Molly.

Molly moves to NYC to begin a new underground poker game. After reaching out to many wealthy New Yorkers, Molly finds enough players for several weekly games.

Despite continuous success, she fears being unable to cover her losses when players cannot pay. Her dealer convinces her to begin taking a percentage of large pots, recouping her potential losses but making her game an illegal gambling operation.

Brad is indicted for running a Ponzi scheme; Molly is investigated and questioned as to who attended her games. At this time, she becomes increasingly addicted to drugs, as the games have taken their toll. Her players also begin to include wealthy individuals from the Russian mafia, among others.

Molly is approached by the Italian mafia, who offer their services to extort money from non-paying players. After she declines, she is attacked in her home, held at gunpoint and her mother's life is threatened. As she is about to return to her poker games, the FBI raids, as Douglas Downey, a player infatuated with her, informs on her. Molly's assets are seized, and she returns home to live with her mother.

Two years later, Molly has published a book, naming only a few individuals that played in her games. Arrested by the FBI, she is indicted for involvement in illegal gambling with the mafia. She enlists Charlie Jaffey's help, a high-profile, expensive lawyer in New York, who agrees to help after learning she has been protecting innocent people affected by her poker games.

While she is in NYC awaiting trial, her father Larry seeks her out and attempts to reconcile. He admits he was overbearing and that he treated Molly differently than her brothers because she had known about his affairs.

Charlie reads Molly's book and becomes interested in helping her case, as he feels she has not committed serious enough wrongdoing to merit prison. Charlie negotiates a deal for Molly to receive no sentence and for her money to be returned in exchange for her hard drives and digital gambling records. Molly declines this deal, fearing that the information about her players would be released, and she pleads guilty.

The judge, deciding that she had committed no serious crimes, sentences her to 200 hours community service, one year probation, and a $200,000 fine.

Cast

Production

Development

On November 12, 2014, Mark Gordon's The Mark Gordon Company bought the feature film adaptation rights to Molly Bloom's memoir, Molly's Game, which Gordon produced. Aaron Sorkin was hired to adapt the memoir into a screenplay.[10] Bloom had already approached Sorkin, as he was her "favorite writer".[11][12] On January 7, 2016, it was announced that Sorkin would make his directorial debut on the film, for Sony Pictures Entertainment, while Amy Pascal also produced.[13] On February 18, 2016, Sony exited the project,[14] and on May 13, 2016, STX Entertainment came on board, and subsequently bought the film's US and Chinese distribution rights for $9 million.[15]

Casting

On February 18, 2016, Sorkin offered Jessica Chastain the lead role in the film, but the negotiations between them had then not yet begun.[16] On May 6, 2016, Idris Elba joined the film to star alongside Chastain. Sorkin stated that "the casting of Jessica and Idris in the two lead roles is any filmmaker's dream come true, they're two of the greatest actors of their generation, paired for the first time, and their chemistry will be electric."[17] On September 7, 2016, Michael Cera joined the cast as Player X, a celebrity poker player.[18] On October 17, 2016, Kevin Costner joined as Molly Bloom's father,[19] and on October 21, 2016, Brian d'Arcy James was added.[20] On November 9, 2016, Chris O'Dowd, Jeremy Strong, Bill Camp, and Graham Greene joined the cast as well.[21]

Molly Bloom herself discussed Chastain's portrayal of her character with ET Canada stating, "We spent a little time together. She didn't have much time for prep or research," Bloom told ET Canada's Matte Babel. "I was blown away by her performance by how right it was and how deep and understood I felt by her performance."[22]

Filming

Principal photography began on November 9, 2016, in Toronto.[23] Production concluded on February 9, 2017.[24]

Release

Molly's Game premiered on September 8, 2017, at the Toronto International Film Festival.[2] It was also the closing film at AFI Fest on November 16, 2017, replacing All the Money in the World.[25] It began a limited release in North America on December 25, 2017, before expanding wide on January 5, 2018.[26] The film was previously slated to be released on November 22, 2017, before being moved to the Christmas date in October 2017.[27]

Reception

Box office

Molly's Game grossed $28.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $30.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $59.3 million.[4]

On Christmas Day, the film debuted with $1.04 million from 271 theaters.[28] In its first full weekend, the film grossed $2.3 million, finishing 13th at the box office.[29] The film expanded wide on January 5, 2018, alongside the opening of Insidious: The Last Key, and was projected to gross around $6 million from 1,608 theaters in its opening weekend.[3] It ended up debuting to $6.9 million, finishing 7th at the box office.[30] The following weekend it dropped 44% to $3.9 million, finishing 11th.[31] In its third week of wide release the film grossed $1.7 million, finishing 19th.[32]

The film also grossed a total of $4.5 million in France and $5.3 million in the United Kingdom.[33]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 309 reviews, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Powered by an intriguing story and a pair of outstanding performances from Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, Molly's Game marks a solid debut for writer-director Aaron Sorkin."[34] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[35] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[28]

Peter Debruge of Variety praised Sorkin's script, saying, "... Molly's Game delivers one of the screen's great female parts — a dense, dynamic, compulsively entertaining affair, whose central role makes stunning use of Chastain's stratospheric talent."[36] Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film 9/10, writing, "Molly's Game is a perfect story for Sorkin. There's poker, the Russian mafia, the Italian mafia, celebrities, and sports. The only thing missing for Sorkin's wheelhouse is President Bartlet. And at over two hours long, the film still feels tight and never fails to entertain."[37]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, saying, "Molly's Game bristles with fun zingers, electric energy and Sorkin's brand of verbal fireworks – all of which help enormously when the movie falters in fleshing out its characters. Still, in his first film with a female protagonist, the writer-director has hit on a timely theme: the tribulations of being a woman in a man's world."[38] Chastain's portrayal of Molly Bloom was praised by The Hollywood Reporter, for "Chastain roars through the performance with a force and take-no-prisoners attitude that keeps one rapt." The Hollywood Reporter also stated: "Sorkin keeps things rolling relentlessly and gets fine results from the actors down the line [...]. [...] The film looks sharp and a trio of editors keeps thing pacey despite the 140-minute running time." It concluded: "One strong woman and many rich men make for a good show."[39]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards	February 5, 2018	Best Screenwriter	Aaron Sorkin	Won	[40][41]
Academy Awards	March 4, 2018	Best Adapted Screenplay		Nominated	[42]
Alliance of Women Film Journalists	January 9, 2018	Best Adapted Screenplay		Nominated	[43]
American Cinema Editors	January 26, 2018	Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic	Alan Baumgarten, Elliot Graham and Josh Schaeffer	Nominated	[44]
British Academy Film Awards	February 18, 2018	Best Adapted Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated	[45]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	January 11, 2018	Best Actress	Jessica Chastain	Nominated	[46]
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated
Denver International Film Festival	November 13, 2017	Career Achievement Award		Won	[47]
Detroit Film Critics Society	December 7, 2017	Best Actress	Jessica Chastain	Nominated	[48]
Florida Film Critics Circle	December 23, 2017	Best Screenplay – Adapted	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated	[49] [50]
Georgia Film Critics Association	January 12, 2018	Best Actress	Jessica Chastain	Nominated	[51]
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	January 7, 2018	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama	Jessica Chastain	Nominated	[6]
		Best Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated
Mill Valley Film Festival	October 17, 2017	Audience Favorite U.S. Cinema – Gold Award	Molly's Game	Won	[52]
Palm Springs International Film Festival	January 2, 2018	Chairman's Award	Jessica Chastain	Won	[53]
Producers Guild of America Awards	January 20, 2018	Best Theatrical Motion Picture	Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal and Matt Jackson	Nominated	[54]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle	December 10, 2017	Best Adapted Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated	[55]
Satellite Awards	February 10, 2018	Best Actress	Jessica Chastain	Nominated	[56]
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated
USC Scripter Awards	February 10, 2018	Best Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin and Molly Bloom	Nominated	[57]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	December 8, 2017	Best Adapted Screenplay	Aaron Sorkin	Nominated	[58]
Writers Guild of America Awards	February 11, 2018	Best Adapted Screenplay		Nominated	[8]
Zurich Film Festival	October 4, 2017	Career Achievement Award		Won	[59]

References

External links

• Official website
• Molly's Game at IMDb 
• Molly's Game at AllMovie
• Molly's Game at Box Office Mojo
• Molly's Game at History vs. Hollywood

На других языках

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[de] Molly’s Game – Alles auf eine Karte

Molly’s Game – Alles auf eine Karte ist eine US-amerikanische Filmbiografie von Aaron Sorkin, die im September 2017 im Rahmen des Toronto International Film Festivals ihre Premiere feierte und am 25. Dezember 2017 in die US-amerikanischen Kinos kam. Der Film basiert auf den Memoiren von Molly Bloom.

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- [en] Molly's Game

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[es] Molly's Game

Molly's Game (Apuesta maestra en Hispanoamérica) es una película estadounidense de drama y crimen escrita y dirigida por Aaron Sorkin (en su debut como director), basada en las memorias Molly's Game, de Molly Bloom. Está protagonizada por Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Brian d'Arcy James, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp, Graham Greene, Claire Rankin, Joe Keery y Jeremy Strong. La película sigue a Bloom (Chastain), quien se convierte en el objetivo de una investigación del FBI sobre el imperio subterráneo del póker que ella dirige para celebridades de Hollywood, atletas, magnates de negocios y la mafia rusa.

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[ru] Большая игра (фильм, 2017)

«Большая игра» (англ. Molly's Game; дословно — «Игра Молли») — американский драматический фильм Аарона Соркина. Сценарий картины создан по мотивам автобиографической книги легендарной Молли Блум. Молли Блум – одна из самых знаменитых личностей в покерном мире, получившая известность благодаря тому, что организовала и владела подпольным клубом, где играли звезды Голливуда, криминальные авторитеты и просто очень богатые люди. В главной роли Джессика Честейн[1]. В США фильм вышел 25 декабря 2017 года в ограниченном прокате. В широкий прокат в России вышел 11 января 2018 года[2].

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