Molly's Game (2017)

The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.

Director:

Aaron Sorkin

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (written for the screen by), Molly Bloom (based on the book by)

Stars:

Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 50 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Chastain	...	Molly Bloom
Idris Elba	...	Charlie Jaffey
Kevin Costner	...	Larry Bloom
Michael Cera	...	Player X
Jeremy Strong	...	Dean Keith
Chris O'Dowd	...	Douglas Downey
J.C. MacKenzie	...	Harrison Wellstone
Brian d'Arcy James	...	Brad
Bill Camp	...	Harlan Eustice
Graham Greene	...	Judge Foxman
Justin Kirk	...	Jay
Angela Gots	...	B
Natalie Krill	...	Winston
Stephanie Herfield	...	Jesse
Madison McKinley	...	Shelby

Storyline

Molly Bloom, a beautiful young Olympic-class skier, ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans, and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.

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Plot Keywords:

short skirt with heels | poker | lawyer | playing cards | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

Deal with her.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kevin Costner also played father to a daughter named Molly in Swing Vote (2008).

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Goofs

A snowboarder is shown at Deer Valley Resort. After her fall at Deer Valley in the Olympic qualifier, two medical personnel are first on the scene, one of which approaches via snowboard. All snowboarding is banned at Deer Valley Resort; this scene was actually filmed at Beaver Valley Ski Club in Ontario, Canada, which does allow snowboarding.

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Quotes

Douglas Downey: There's a poem... a famous... uh... a poem about... thoughts left unexpressed. "Two roads emerged from the woods. Do they explode? I dunno" You like poetry?
Molly Bloom: I did until a second ago

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Connections

Features Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

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Soundtracks

Blow Away
Written by George Harrison
Performed by Thenewno2
Published by Umlaut Corporation (ASCAP) c/o Penny Farthing Music
By arrangement with The Bicycle Music Company

User Reviews

A True Tall Tale of High Stakes

Nothing comes close to the rush of winning, at least according to those who have succeeded where others have failed. Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) managed to become a millionaire with a dose of luck, will and endless street smarts. The former professional skier ran high stakes poker-games in Los Angeles and New York and found herself in the middle of a federal investigation, where she was accused of colluding with organized crime.

Being a sucker for great stories of real life characters, it is easy to see what Aaron Sorkin saw in the very true tale of Molly Bloom. The American ethos of being No. 1 combined with the isolation and principles of its heroine make "Molly's Game" a tremendous playing field for Sorkin's directorial debut.

Even though he has dealt with themes of power, loyalty and the darker side of entrepreneurial endeavors in "The Social Network", "Newsroom", "Steve Jobs" and "Moneyball", what sets this story apart is that Sorkin chooses to layer the rise-and-fall of the titular character with questions about business morals and the loss of a more principled economic system, that has been washed away by fast-buck artists and fatalistic devil-may-care attitudes.

"Molly's Game" has a speedy pace, marvelous performances by both Chastain and Idris Elba, as her lawyer, and is directed with a sure hand. Which makes Sorkin's first directorial outing a joy to watch.

It's two-hour-plus running time glides by like a breeze and ends on a corny yet truthful note about the virtues of failure, that is a glimmer of hope in times of struggle, as well as one of the tenets of screen writing.

The fight, the hustle and the failure never end, but then again, so do the rewards in their own funny way. You win some, you lose some, and Sorkin never seems to forget how close he is to the edge.

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook Instagram

Country:

China Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Molly's Game

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,349,967, 31 December 2017

Gross USA:

$28,780,744

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$59,284,015

Company Credits

Production Co:

STX Entertainment, Huayi Brothers Pictures, The Mark Gordon Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1