Finally, the poker movie genre got the film it has been looking for since Rounders, with Molly’s game showcasing the highs and the lows of the world of underground poker in Hollywood. Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba and an ensemble cast bring to life the story of Molly Bloom, the real-life princess of underground poker. In a story of vice, crime and big personality clashes, the action is fast-paced and the acting is on-point, with Chastain in particular helping to make the whole unbelievable-yet-true story as close to the truth as possible.
The real life Molly Bloom was a professional skier, who traded law school for Los Angeles after a career-ending injury. After working in several nightclubs that brought in high-profile guests, she soon became a drinks hostess, serving celebrities who were partaking in illegal poker games behind closed doors. After gaining a reputation, she was soon running her own games and setting up tournaments and games for movie stars, musicians, businessmen, and even the Russian mob.
Although amalgamated into one character in the film, ‘Player X’ (Michael Cera), Bloom dealt with some big names from Hollywood who were and still are big gamblers in both professional and underground games. Leonardo di Caprio, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon (who starred in Rounders) and Toby Maguire all have small details from real life events put into the film, making the whole image of Bloom’s world even more incredible.
So what about the poker? Well, the movie is obviously all about the elaborate underground games that often held millions of dollars in the pot, but sometimes the focus is more on personal interactions between the characters. A lot of the action centres around the exciting parts of Bloom’s life, especially her rise to becoming the top underground poker game manager, as well as incidents like the indictment of one of her players for running a Ponzi scheme (which actually happened to Bradley Ruderman) and her confrontation with Russian mobsters, when she rejected approaches for them to offer protection. There’s also the underlying story of Bloom’s addiction to drugs, showing that the scene wasn’t all glitz and glamour.
The actual gameplay isn’t particularly prominent either. In most scenes, it’s a background affair that is completely secondary to Molly either kicking ass or dealing with problems, and apart from some gameplay scenes involving player X, there isn’t really an indication of winning moves or decent hands. The focus is definitely on the storyline, rather than the game of poker itself.
As for the glamorous image, the movie does seem to show an exciting atmosphere with some big money to be won. For regular casino visitors, the most noticeable difference are the pot sizes and lack of limits. Everything feels a bit more raucous in the movie too, with plenty of booze and illegal drugs flying around inside the scene. Everything looks great fun, but whether it’s all legal fun is something to consider!
Then there’s the dark bits of the movie, where some particularly unsavoury characters become involved with the games, including members of the Russian mob. One thing that you won’t find in ‘normal’ games of poker these days are menacing criminals, of which there are plenty of in the movie. Being able to walk away with your winnings without having them taken off you is a big bonus, and Molly’s Game certainly doesn’t do any favours to shake gambling’s association with organised crime. The movie is also unashamed in displaying the games as being totally geared towards the house making money, with cuts from the pot and a few cases of deceit causing players to lose money.
What it does have however is plenty of excitement. The story is fast-paced, and there are plenty of characters throughout the game who end up winning large amounts of money. And that’s what poker should be about. A game of poker shouldn’t be a safe affair, with a guaranteed return. There should always be a hero (the player), a bad guy (the person at the table who is obviously the best player) and a useless sidekick (the guy from work who came along, but has never played poker). Molly’s Game has oodles of this, and is definitely a roller-coaster ride through the underground poker world, all of this means Hollywood is perfect for poker as it perfectly encapsulates the drama involved in every game.
Whether it will have a direct influence on new poker players is questionable. The movie isn’t about the billionaires, athletes, celebrities and mobsters that are making the most money, but instead about the person running the games. It’s kind of like the real-world of poker has been tipped on it’s head, the house could end up losing big style, and the players are the ones with the real control. But nothing really good comes of the players in the story, and in the long run it actually turns out to be pretty bad in some cases, especially when hired lawyer Charlie Jaffa (Idriss Elba) fights Molly’s corner and attempts to make her name some of her players from the past.
What the film definitely does however is raise the profile of poker again. Poker has been through phases, with televised tournaments boosting the profile in the late 90s and early 2000s, before online poker really took off in the 2000s and changed the game completely. Hopefully movies like Molly’s Game, that show that there’s money to be won and excitement to be had, will be a gentle reminder for both old and new players that there are still some fantastic money making opportunities to be had from playing poker.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, it’s definitely worth a watch, especially with the true story element behind such an incredibly dramatic series of events. After watching the scenes involving high stakes games featuring semi-recognisable celebs, we guarantee you’ll want to dust off your poker set and get everyone around.
