Molly’s Game: The Movie Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Should Watch
“You know what makes you feel okay about losing? Winning.” She said.
Last summer, I decided to build my startup.
In a couple of months, I hit the one year mark. Most of the lessons I learned were not the subject of any book or any school major.
They flashed right before my eyes as I was watching Molly’s game.
Molly’s game is a 2017 movie written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. The screenplay is the baby of a memoir with the same name written by Molly Bloom.
This entrepreneur built a multi million business. She ran illegal high stakes underground poker games in Los Angeles and New York. The games featured Hollywood superstars, sports icons, famous entrepreneurs.
And surprisingly, the Russian mob.
The story is pretty simple and straightforward. Molly Bloom, a college dropout starts as a real estate assistant to become the poker princess.
At 13, Molly had a brutal ski accident during an unsuccessful bid for the Olympics. Her will to succeed and to prove herself to her extreme therapist father led her to become an FBI target.
It may seem like your typical hero’s journey at first.
Yet if you dig deeper, you will find out something else. Aaron Sorkin is known for his rapid fire dialogue and a non linear structure in his scripts. Indeed, he bounces between time-lines.
Those bounces move in pairs. Molly with the lawyer, Molly as a poker princess and Molly as a college dropout.
The dialogue — as expected from Sorkin — is quirky and daring. It has a musical aspect. The result? 140 minutes of pure entertainment.Molly’s Game has a small set of characters.
Jessica Chastain delivers a brilliant performance as Molly Bloom.
Idris Elba who plays her lawyer Charlie Jaffey, was also remarkable.
The father Larry Bloom is portrayed by academy award winner, Kevin Costner. He captures one of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen in the big screen.
Music is where Molly’s game, however, has no game. Don’t get me wrong. The score is fitting with the themes. You just don’t feel it.
I am listening to the soundtrack as I am writing these words. The pieces on their own are something although it’s nothing mind blowing.
Then again, at least they tried.
Sorkin usually picks a director. Collaboration is important in film making.One of his best work on my opinion is social network. David Fincher directed it. It may come as a shock but hallelujah , Sorkin made his directorial debut here.
He sucked at it. Yup. Cinematography here is nothing but a disaster. Very basic, at best: camera moves and framing especially.
At first glance, you may think the movie is about gambling.
Poker here is a plot device to move the story forward. You will learn a bit about poker of course. But that’s not the real deal.
The movie tackles entrepreneurship. We follow Molly as she builds her hot illegal business from scratch. We also have a taste of the challenges she faces as a female founder. Other themes include drug use, addiction and depression.
Unfortunately, those three were not that present, and somehow forced. Despite its poor visuals and soundtrack design, Molly’s game is yet another Sorkin biography masterpiece.
The punchy dialogue and the fantastic cast gives you a memorable experience.
Final Verdict: 7/10
You should definitely give it a shot.
Quotes
“You know what makes you feel okay about losing? Winning.” Molly Bloom.
“To whoever answered that the worst thing that can happen in sports is getting 4th place in the Olympics: Seriously? Fuck you.” Molly Bloom.
