Hailed by many as a dialogue virtuoso, and the branded the Shakespeare of movies, Aaron Sorkin, with his newest project "Molly's Game", a biographical drama based off the memoir of former Olympic skier Molly Bloom, unveiled itself from behind unraveling curtains in movie theatre around the world on Boxing Day. Despite starring two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain and former Golden Globe Winner Idris Elba, along with being gift wrapped with a lining shimmering with the words that spelt: "Aaron Sorkin's Directorial Debut", the film, setting foot on a stage still pitted beneath the shadow of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", hardly punched an eager ticket. So far having grossed just $6.1 million on a $30 million budget.
Its early box office mediocrity aside, "Molly's Game" establishes itself as a lucrative feast of words -- one like many Sorkin has prepared in the past -- for those eager enough to be fed an entree of monologues so fast, engaging, and snappy, that spectators are left wiping their mouths. Salivating for more even when their mental stomachs are still busy digesting the fullness of what they have just eaten. Witty, laced with a pounding ecstasy of adrenaline, while bolstered by a headstrong, ruthless determination made only possible through the work of Jessica Chastain, Sorkin's biopic makes a case of undeterred conviction as a cinematic voyage. One that hovers on the side of gripping intrigue, with euphoric moments of deep, cathartic pathos.
Yet, for the sweeping emotional tour de force that is "Molly's Game", the movie does suffer from several lapses in consistency. A major outstanding element has to do with the introduction and disappearance of certain characters. In particular, this shortcoming manifests itself in the form of Player X, played by Michael Cera. In the early stages of the film, X builds rapport as a catalytic proponent in Molly's character development as she navigates the toxic environment of gambling. Serving as an emotional outlet, even a shoulder to cry on for the protagonist in the midst of being surrounded by people as duplicitous as the veneer that shrouds the realm of underground poker. Nevertheless, after X's sudden betrayal, which forces Molly to leave Los Angeles, he disappears -- never to resurface again. A question of his whereabouts, his fate, which loiters throughout the last of the two hours and twenty minutes it takes for Sorkin's drama to reach the curtain close. Casting a diluting drop that slows the final beat of the movie's all but poetic ending.
Its few quirks in nature notwithstanding, "Molly's Game" joins the likes of "A Few Good Men", "The Social Network" and "Steve Jobs" as a bountiful indulgence strung together from a recipe containing letters that spell: entertaining.
