Yay or Nay: Meghan Reacts to "Molly's Game" (Movie)




 (Meghan): Sometimes, my parents tend to drag me to movies. For the most part, I'm pretty much Gollum, I hang around in my room watching YouTube and writing shitty short stories nobody will ever read. That, or surfing Tumblr to various favourite anime/manga that I like.

In short, I'm a variation of Tsukimi from Jellyfish Princess. 
Except...rather than draw jellyfish, I write romance stories and read otome.

I'm as a happy, as my mother puts it, as a "pig in shit" when it comes to being anti-social. However, there's the odd time I decide to leave the comfort of my bed, and actually, go out. Which is what I did last Saturday when my dad wanted to see Molly's Game. 

For those who don't know, this movie is based on a true story. It's up to a bunch of awards right now, and to be honest, it deserves it. It's pretty damn good. It's got an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.6/10 on IMDB. That's pretty impressive. 

The Story

Now, the story is a little hard to describe. The movie flips back and forth between past and present. It tells the story of Olympic-class skier Molly Bloom who ran some of the world's most exclusive poker-games, building an empire with, as the movie quotes "not much more than her wits". Players of these games including rich playboys, actors, high businessmen, in short, legends of the high-class world (and unknowingly, the Russian mob). 

Her defense attorney, Charles Jaffrey, at this time is her only friend when she's charged with breaking federal law and becoming a target of the FBI. 

If you want to watch the trailer, you can watch it here


I've seen the trailer, and to be honest, I was interested in seeing this. It looks incredible. When I went to see The Last Jedi, before they played it, they had one of those "behind the scenes" with a movie that's hot playing. That was Molly's Game. In an interview with its director, Aaron Sorkin he says (I'm paraphrasing quite a bit): 

"If you think this movie is about poker, you haven't been paying attention"

Ain't that the truth. 


It's Not About the Poker 

If you decide to see this movie, and I would straight-up recommend it, do not pay attention to the luxuries. Not the fancy wines, hotels, poker-chips and talk, or anything that screams LAVISH. And there's a lot so it can get pretty distracting. 

It's not about the poker. It's about a lot more than that. 

Molly partially narrates the film, as I've said, flipping between past (how she created her empire from the ground up), to present (broke, and now being charged with starting an illegal game and taking the profits of that game). 

And she shows word-for-word how she's done what she's done. But if you're a smart watcher, you'll be paying attention in between the lines. Look at this woman, she's incredibly smart. No, she's a genius who doesn't take defeat, even though she's handed shitty hand after hand (excuse the poker pun). 

Her family life growing up was a big motivator for this (no spoilers), and her aversion to being controlled by as she puts it "powerful men". She goes through literal hell, I think and comes out the other end unscathed. That's impressive. 

And even when she has nothing, and could get some of that back by just naming the names of those "high-class people" she knows about, she won't. As it's put in the movie: 

She's got the winning lottery ticket, and she just won't cash it!

Even though I think that some of these people who did screw her over deserve to have their names out in the open, she won't do it. She doesn't want to destroy lives, families, etc. and I think this has a lot to do with the fact that in the movie, she believes her family was destroyed. 


No, it's not about the poker. It's about the struggle.

It's about a woman who did something amazing, was screwed over multiple times, and in multiple ways, and still manages to keep her integrity, and her dignity. It's about a woman who, despite always having the losing hand, can come out with a royal flush. And, it's most importantly, about a woman who was seriously misconstrued by the tabloids and the press, to the point where the "real" her, wasn't even seen. 


That's the most important part. 


Subtlety is Everything 

One of the things I will "harp" on in storytelling is the aspect of subtlety. The best stories, to me, are those that do the showing and work behind the scenes. In short, they make you think. Is this particular detail important? Does this aspect come full circle? 

Do I tell you what you should look at, or do you let the story show you?

These are the things I ask myself when I'm trying to decide if I like a certain piece of fiction. 

In Molly's Game, subtlety is everything. 

Just as with poker games conducted in secret, the true meaning of this movie is also a secret that must be read between the lines. 

They won't tell you what to look at. It's very nicely layered, and by having "Molly" be the one to run the narrative, this film truly becomes "her game". She's showing you what you need, but you need to be clever enough to see it (just as poker is a game of skill). 


The subtlety of the message, to me, makes for a better payoff. Realizing Molly's predicament through her past, and what she's come to now makes your sympathy towards Molly, as well as what happens to her more moving. 

Subtlety is the character of Molly, to me. It's not what she says, but what she does, which works to cement her character even more. It shows but doesn't tell. It lets you make your own choices about Molly, her story, and what's happened to her. 

This is how you know it's a good movie. 



The Bad

As with any movie, it does have some weaker points. Mostly, this has to do with the transitioning between past and present. They can become a little distracting, as some parts you just want to know what happened and then they flip back to the present. That's a little bit of the problem, at least in the beginning, when you're trying to get invested, understand what's at stake.

Her Family: My god, I wanted a bit more on this. I felt this part especially could've had more plot development. It felt like there were too little flashbacks, going from "I feel inadequate, to I hate my father", and then realizing why she does. It felt very rushed, and I thought it was a huge part of Molly, and why she was the way she is. There's a whole subplot with it, and I don't think it was touched on enough. 

My Rating 

I really enjoyed this movie. However, although I didn't say this enough, there were some parts that I just wasn't interested in, and perhaps this was due to the "flipping back and forth" parts I mentioned earlier. But I left the theater feeling inspired and wanting to know more about her. Not the tabloid her- the real her. 

Having said that, my personal rating would be a 4/5. It's a definite yay!  The good definitely outweighs the little bad there is. It's a good story, told strongly, with heartfelt and thrilling moments. 

Tried not to spoil so go see it!

On that note! Get thee to a theater now!




Stay tuned for next week! Our big review is almost done! Next week, starting Monday, February 5th, will begin Star-Crossed Week, a week dedicated to reviewing a popular Voltage Otome visual novel!
~Meghan 

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