Movie Review Molly's Game

Molly's Game (2017) 

Directed by Aaron Sorkin

Written by Aaron Sorkin

Starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Kevin Costner 

Release Date December 25th, 2017

Can one scene demonstrate why Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut, Molly’s Game starring Jessica Chastain falls flat? Probably not, but in this article, I am going to demonstrate how one scene can shed light on the Aaron Sorkin style, why Idris Elba is not really an Aaron Sorkin kind of actor and just who is the Aaron Sorkin style of actor; here’s a hint, they were on The West Wing.

Molly’s Game stars Jessica Chastain in the somewhat true to life role of Molly Bloom, a woman the tabloids came to call ‘The Poker Princess.’ Molly was on her way to the Salt Lake City Olympics as a skier when she suffered a devastating crash injury and was sent into retirement. Instead of going to law school and starting her life, Molly decided to move to Los Angeles, where she goes to work for a high roller who runs a high stakes poker game.

Eventually, Molly takes over the game and begins a multi-million dollar run that came to an abrupt end when the Russian mob began invading her game and leading to the FBI raiding the game and arresting Molly. After Molly wrote a book about her time running high stakes poker games for celebrities, politicians, and tycoons, the FBI raided her again and arrested her.

All of this leads up to the scene we are going to discuss in this article. Molly needs a lawyer, and her fifth choice is Charley Jaffy, played by Idris Elba. Charlie doesn’t want to be Molly’s lawyer, but after a tense interview he can’t help but be intrigued enough to, at least, accompany her to her first hearing. Being that the Russian mob is involved, Charley brings along security and sits one of the beefy guards between himself and Molly.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal

Movie Review Armageddon Time

Armageddon Time (2002) 

Directed by James Gray 

Written by James Gray 

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong 

Release Date November 4th, 2022 

Published November 10th, 2022 

Armageddon Time  stars Michael Banks Repeta as Paul, a young man in 1980 New York City attending public school. Paul comes from a Jewish background but his family has hidden that behind the name Graf. At school, Paul is unremarkable, a minor rebel who mocks his teacher. He finds a friend in Johnny (Jaylin Webb), a fellow outcast, a young black kid whose been held back at least once. Johnny is in trouble a lot, mostly because his teacher just assumes Johnny is the one causing trouble. 

At home, Paul has a loving, if somewhat angry family. Paul has somehow convinced himself that his family is rich though we can clearly see that there are middle class at best. Regardless, Paul takes liberties with his parents, especially by ordering take out even after his mother, Anne Hathaway, has cooked an expansive dinner for their entire family. His father, played by Jeremy Strong, is loving but can be overbearing and outright abusive. 

That abusive side comes out when Paul finds trouble at school. With Johnny, Paul is caught smoking marijuana in the school bathroom. Paul's father finds out and give his son a frightening beating with a belt in a scene that director James Gray is smart not to romanticize. Many of Gray's generation, my generation, as well, tend to act as if a father who beat their kids was a 'disciplinarian' and not an abuser. Gray and Jeremy Strong give the father character in Armageddon Time a more complex rendering as a man who loves his kids but also feels at a loss at how to care for them. It's clear he was also beaten as a child and he sees it as the only way forward as a parent. 

Paul gets pulled out of his public school and placed in a rich private school with the help of his benevolent and loving grandfather, played by Anthony Hopkins. At this rich private school Paul runs in the same circle as the sons of the Trump family. When they see Paul talking with Johnny at the gates of the school, their sneering racism causes Paul to pull away from his friend. At the urging of his grandfather, Paul tries to repair his friendship but his plan to do so only causes more problems. 

At his new school, the line between white and black, the privileged and the less than privileged, is brought into stark contrast when Maryanne Trump (Jessica Chastain in cameo), visits the school and delivers a speech. The speech is like a message directly to Paul, and thus to us, about where you stand and who you stand for. Will you be part of the future she proposes led by the rich elite, or stand with those in need of help. 

I think... honestly, I am not entirely sure what James Gray is going for overall. There are elements of class warfare, and something being said about white-privilege and the racial divide. That said, what point James Grey is trying to make is undermined by his storytelling choices. The lasting memory of Armageddon Time is that of a young black kid acting as a functionary in the coming of age of a young white kid. The young black kid has no life, no dimension, he exists to teach a lesson to our main character. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media.