That's why I enjoy watching movies with her participation - they stand out from the huge gray mass of quality but dull films. Enough about Jessica. Let's move on to the movie at hands "Molly’s Game".
Poker isn’t my game. I know the rules and sometimes play with my friends, but that is as far as it goes. As a player I am lousy: make emotional moves, have no idea how to bluff, and I can’t catch anyone on a lie. In general, I don’t regret this. As passionate as I am, I could have lost a lot of money. So for me, “no try, no cry,” is the ideal tactics. Yet, I love watching poker movies. "Rounders" with Norton, Damon, and the great performance of the legendary John Malkovich as Tony "KGB". I also like all sorts of "Casino Royals" – not a high art, but interesting.
"Molly’s Game" is somewhat a different type of a movie. It’s not just about poker - it's about poker’s backstage. The organization of clandestine tournaments in fashionable hotels of Los Angeles and New York, under the delicate patronage of the red-haired miss. For me - that's where the real interest of the movie resides, even though, most likely, "vociferous" professionals will contemptuously snort at this “layman” interest.
The movie is interesting to watch, even though its setting is limited to only various poker rooms and the main character attorney’s office. By the way, Idris Elba plays, who plays the attorney, is growing as an actor since the disgusting "Dark Tower." He is very good here, as well as in "The Mountain Between Us."
The rest of the actors are less known, with the exception of Michael Cera, whom I do not like because he's nasty, and Chris O'Dowd, whom I do not like because he's even nastier than Michael Cera. Yet, all play quite well.
The film keeps a viewer in suspense from the very beginning, with the help of a rather unexpected and spectacular outset. The atmosphere of suspense remains throughout the entire movie. The film has a good soundtrack and cinematography, the characters that scriptwriters rid of boring stereotypes. The Russian mafia is no longer Boris Ritva, Viggo Mortensen, or a blue-eyed woman from the Tariff for Export, but quite ordinary people, a little eccentric, but no more. Oh, yes. Kevin Costner is also in this movie, who is still in a great shape, both physically and as an actor.
As I mentioned earlier, the film is about the girl Molly, who, since childhood, was a clever but oppressed by the authoritative father-psychologist, flopped in sports undertakings, decided to run away as far away from her beloved family as possible. Somewhat a banal story, isn’t it? Perhaps, but not every girl who escaped from the family becomes an organizer of poker games, handling tens of millions of dollar operations - and Molly managed to do just that. She successfully coped, before new variables entered the equation: the possibility of illegal earnings and drugs.
The recurring theme in the movie is the relationship of the daughter with a loving but demanding father, to whom she owes much, both in a good and bad sense. He taught her honesty and made a stronger than a steel hammer, but completely unaccustomed to retreat, which almost led Molly to jail. Of course, closer to the end of the film, the dad returns, in order to encourage the prodigal daughter and proclaim that he has always loved her more than anyone else has. This is a little bit of a cliché but on the other hand, where would the big cinema be without small platitudes?
I rarely find no defects in the film, but here, without digging deep, I did not find any. This movie is not a masterpiece - do not expect Oscar nominations or other great achievements, even though in my opinion Jessica is worthy of it. It’s just pleasant and interesting to watch. For me, this criterion beats any other one, and if you think similarly - welcome to Molly’s Game!
