DVD: Molly’s Game

I had high hopes for Molly’s Game, being that it is from the pen of Aaron Sorkin, but we’re a long way from his best work, The West Wing, which as an aside would be one of the better TV shows to be considered for a re-boot in my ever so humble opinion. It also stars Idris Elba, who, thanks to Netflix, I finally saw in Luther last month. And it’s a true story about a strong woman doing what she wants in a seemingly male dominated world.

Tick, tick, tick.

It even has a surprising beginning with a bit of Winter Olympics back story.

But this rendition of Molly Bloom’s life story – an Olympic skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for ten years before the FBI arrested on the pretense of getting information out of her – tends to drag it’s arse too much to keep on the entertaining side of compelling. Sure when Molly is on form the film is amazing and keeps you focused, but Sorkin is more adept at punchy 45 minute TV plots than he is running a film that almost hits the two and a half hour mark.

It’s a pity, because if he had reigned in about an hour of the film, it would have been a punchy powerhouse of a film.

Rating: R13 Restricted to persons 13 years and over. NOTE: Violence, drug use & offensive language.

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