Jessica Chastain

Molly’s Game

The saying goes, if they wrote a book about your life, would anyone read it? Part of what makes the human experience beautiful is its variation. Two wildly different lives can both be compelling. For instance, Nelson Mandela and Al Capone don’t have much in common, but I’d watch a movie or read a book about either one of them. If you reduce a film to its most essential element, what you have is a story, and Molly’s is simply a great one.

Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain, The Zookeeper’s Wife) was a competitive skier and former Olympian, an amazing feat by most standards. Like many Olympians, her father (Kevin Costner, Hidden Figures) doubled as coach/mentor – wielding influence that was instrumental to her success, yet stifling in its effect on her psychological makeup. The problem with many athletes or other uber talented people is that they run the risk of tying their entire self-identity to this one facet of their being, their gift. When it disappears, they’re often left asking, what now?

 Written by the incomparable Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network), Molly’s Game is replete with the auteur’s smart, succinct dialogue, often delivered through rapid-fire, omniscient narration. The film begins with the pivotal moment that changed the trajectory of Molly’s life, the last day she skied competitively. Through flashback Sorkin depicts her tragic final run, one that ends in a crash at the bottom of a hill instead of the medal podium. This opening scene was critical in establishing Molly’s relentless drive, type A personality, and her resilience. Not to mention it was just a fascinating look into a sport I know very little about. I always feel a bit smarter after watching Sorkin’s work, and Molly was expertly fleshed out from the beginning.

Forced to reinvent herself, Molly charts a new course, delaying law school to move to Hollywood. There she takes a job as an office assistant and moonlights as a cocktail waitress. Her boss Dean Keith (Jeremy Strong, The Big Short) runs a poker game for a collection of celebrities, including actors, rappers, athletes and titans of tech. He recruits Molly to assist, and soon she’s collecting hefty tips from rich gamers and rubbing elbows with A-listers. Her voracious intellect demands that she learn everything about poker, from the terminology to player “tells.” After a rift with Dean, she uses her newly acquired skillset to begin running her own games, and soon Molly’s game is the hot ticket in town.

By carefully skirting illegality, Molly was able to keep her nose clean. But when circumstances dictated a different clientele for the games, she runs afoul of the FBI. Again, Sorkin effectively uses pace and sequencing to paint a picture, establishing certain crucial events and expounding upon them later in the film. Chastain was endearing as the flawed Bloom, seeming to act out of necessity rather than greed. She relished the success of the game, but it never felt like she wanted more than what was owed and fair. It could be said that she facilitated people’s addiction, but can’t the same be said of casinos? She didn’t take money for the games (known as a “rake”), she didn’t employ muscle to collect from people who couldn’t pay up, and she even tried to talk the more degenerate amongst them from gambling their lives away.

Chastain is joined primarily by Costner and Idris Elba (Thor: Ragnarok) as her attorney Charlie Jaffey. The two actors buttress Chastain with earnest, warm performances – Costner as the domineering yet regretful father forced to revisit his mistakes in parenting, and Elba as her sympathetic advocate. Chastain rightly received a Golden Globe nomination and I’ve been impressed with her since 2010’s The Debt. This film is a bit dialogue heavy to be totally rewatchable, but it was superbly written and performed.

 Grade: A-

A Most Violent Year

The 80s were an interesting time. If you ask people what they most remember about the decadent decade, they will probably mention Reagan, inflation, the dawn of MTV, or defining moments in American culture like the Challenger explosion, Reagan’s assassination attempt, or the Iran Contra scandal. The 80s were also a violent time, even before the crack epidemic created a new class of criminal. The early 80s were especially dangerous in major cities like New York, with 1981 being one of the most violent years on record, at the time. Writer/director J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost) explores this tumultuous period in his atmospheric film A Most Violent Year, starring Oscar Isaac (Inside Lewyn Davis) and Jessica Chastain (Interstellar).

Isaac stars as Abel Morales, the bootstrapping, self-made owner of a profitable heating and oil company. He’s looking to expand his business, attempting to broker a real estate deal with some powerful Jewish members of the community that will grant him direct access to the city’s ports. Things get complicated when his oil truck drivers begin getting carjacked and Abel loses one truck after the other. The thieves’ brazen lawlessness leaves Abel’s drivers vulnerable and threatens his real estate venture. Rather than arm his drivers with guns to defend themselves, Abel tries to quietly investigate – much to the chagrin of his fiery wife Anna (Chastain). Chandor hints throughout the movie that Abel is involved in some shady business dealings, and this seed is planted further when a district attorney named Lawrence (David Oyelowo, Selma) threatens indictment for a slew of offenses ranging from fraud to bribery. The course of the film follows Abel as he tries to find the culprit behind the robberies and stave off indictment while preserving his real estate negotiations.

A Most Violent Year seemed promising based on its trailer and cast, namely Oyelowo and Chastain. Featuring the soulful sounds of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Inner City Blues,” the trailer hinted at a gritty, atmospheric tale, and that same earthy melody played over the opening credits. What song better captures the harsh realities of an unforgiving metropolis? However, despite its moody cinematography and intriguing premise, there were parts of the film that just didn’t excite me. The film smoldered throughout, but it never ignited in the way I thought it would. For example, Abel seemed to bury his head in the sand in the wake of the truck robberies. How is it believable that someone so seemingly passive in one facet of his life could be so shrewd and ambitious in other aspects? I understand wanting to leave a certain lifestyle behind, but how did you ascend to current heights if you never stood up for yourself? In a way, the film never lived up to its provocative title.

Another thing I disliked about the film was the disjointed nature of certain scenes within the context of the larger plot. When Abel finally finds out who is behind the truck heists the revelation is very unsatisfying and just doesn’t make sense, in my opinion. It simply doesn’t fit with the picture Chandor painted earlier in the movie. For some reason (and maybe this is my fault), I thought the movie would be in the vein of Carlito’s Way, but it wasn’t nearly as exciting. I’m not saying a movie has to resort to cheap thrills to hold my attention – but I was rather underwhelmed. However, the aforementioned criticism must be balanced by the positive aspects, which should not be understated. First, the cinematography was excellent. The movie looked like 1981 in every way; it looked like it came out of a vault. The sepia undertones were haunting and almost beautiful. The tone of the film was perfect, and it was superbly acted. For those reasons, I can’t say it was a bad film. It just wasn’t what I expected. Grade: B

Interstellar

Science Fiction is hit or miss for me. I enjoy the imagery and special effects associated with the genre, but if the plot is mired in the technicalities or minutiae of science, it tends to go over my head. When it came to Interstellar, it was director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises) that got my attention. I’m a big fan of his work, so the mere attachment of his name to a project is enough for me to consider checking it out. Moreover, star Matthew McCounaghey (Dallas Buyers Club) made quite the case for the film while making the rounds on its press junket.

The film opens in an unspecified future time, when the world has been ravaged by famine. The entire globe is struggling for resources, and in America corn is the only remaining crop after what appears to be a devastating drought. McCounaghey stars as Cooper, a former pilot and father to a teenaged boy and adolescent daughter. They live in America’s heartland, where an omnipresent layer of thick dust serves as a reminder of lost vegetation. Cooper is a loving, doting father and he staunchly defends his children, particularly his daughter Murphy. “Murph,” as she is affectionately known, has a fiercely independent spirit and idolizes her father. She is curious, and believes their home is being visited by a supernatural force with which she communicates via Morse code. Their future is uncertain, but Cooper has carved out a life for his family, including his late wife’s father Donald (John Lithgow, This Is 40).

One day after communicating with the apparition, Murphy reveals a “message” from the otherworldly visitor. The message leads them to a hidden NASA location, where they are made privy to a master plan for the population’s survival. A scientist named Brand (Michael Caine, Now You See Me) and his daughter (Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables) explain the options to Cooper, whose expertise as a former pilot proves valuable to the scientists and astronauts. Cooper determines that he will execute their mission, traveling to the outer reaches of space in hopes of finding a planet that can sustain human life after Earth becomes uninhabitable.

Well folks, we’ve just about reached the limits of my comprehension, because I couldn’t recount the finer points of the plot if you paid me. I had a very basic understanding, but for me the film’s strength lay in its emotional portrayal of a father who is faced with an unbelievable moral dilemma. Cooper’s decision to travel in space has mammoth repercussions, not the least of which is the temporary abandonment of his family for the greater good of humanity. He has every intention of returning, but the mission is risky and time elapses quite differently in space than it does on Earth.

McCounaghey proves once again that he has the emotional depth to convey the most vulnerable aspects of the human condition. Cooper was courageous, yet frightened, self-interested, but capable of immense sacrifice. My only negative observation of his body of work is that he has yet to ditch his omnipresent Southern twang, though it was not out of place here. He has turned his career around, and there are no discernible signs of regression. Although this was ostensibly a big budget movie, he still chose a vehicle that allowed him to sink his teeth into the emotional elements of his character. Hathaway was also effective, and she too was successful at evoking empathy in the viewer. Finally, Jessica Chastain’s (Mama) performance was worth mentioning. She portrayed Murphy as an adult, and the casting was superb. Although it wavered momentarily, the bond that she shared with her father held the film together, especially when I felt bogged down by the science.

This is another movie that may not be for everyone. The film’s first act focuses on Cooper’s family, and the middle act markedly shifts to another realm. At just under three hours, I had to make an effort to focus on what was happening, particularly when the more nebulous aspects of the storyline emerged. Fortunately, the movie’s emotionality and the talented cast kept me invested. Grade: B+

Lawless

Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight) has recently emerged as the latest “it” guy in Hollywood.  I first viewed him in Guy Ritchie’s gangster drama RocknRolla, and although I found him charming in his supporting role, I was unaware there was such underlying talent.  He’s gone on to star alongside some notable names, and that trend will probably only continue in the future.   His role in the The Dark Knight Rises as super villain Bane cemented his movie star status, and he’s one to watch for me.

Lawless is based on the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers, as told in the novel The Wettest County in the World, written by one of the Bondurant descendants.  The brothers were bootleggers in Prohibition Era Virginia, proving to be murderously resilient and nearly indestructible.  Forrest (Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke) are the two eldest brothers, fearless and violent.  Jack (Shia LaBeouf, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon) is the youngest boy and more naïve to the ways of the bootlegging world.  He is sensitive and green to the criminal lifestyle, though he is anxious to earn more responsibility from his brothers in their enterprise.  His days are spent pining away for the local minister’s daughter, played with youthful innocence by Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right).  A lot of people think Shia is overrated, but I think he does a good job as the well-meaning kid who is in over his head.  It’s a common refrain in his roles, and I think his characters are mostly endearing and relatable.  However, since he conveys the same sentiment in most of his roles – if you disliked him in one you probably disliked him in nearly all of his movies.

Things are rolling along relatively smoothly for the Bondurant Boys, until they run up against a thorny roadblock.  There’s a new sheriff in town (Guy Pearce, Lockout), and he upsets the apple cart by trying to shake them down.  When they refuse to be muscled, the Deputy retaliates against the weakest of the tribe, Jack.  Forrest in particular is not to be trifled with, as the legend of his immortality is so great that he actually believes it himself.  He has survived beatings and several nearly fatal incidents that have convinced the locals that he can’t be killed.  Deputy Rakes wouldn’t dare screw with Forrest just yet, but wants to send a message that he intends to go toe to toe over the spoils of his illegal activity.  Lawless is largely a vehicle for Hardy, and it’s almost like ‘badass’ is in his DNA.  This makes three movies where his character is simply one that is NOT to be fucked with (the first two are Bronson and TDKR if you were wondering).  Despite the aforementioned quality, there is evidence of a softer side, as he ultimately becomes involved with a young woman named Maggie who comes to work for them (Jessica Chastain, The Help).  Forrest is not violent for violence’s sake, but he has no qualms about defending himself by any means necessary.   Maggie appreciates the rugged simplicity that marks his personality, but also reveals a more compassionate side of Forrest.  He is so gentle with her that she even has to make all the moves the first time they sleep together, and his manner with her is sweet without contradicting his ruthless ambition.

Lawless was very entertaining throughout, and it’s pretty awesome that it’s based on a true story.  The story of the Bondurants was ripe for re-telling, though I’ve heard that some of the surviving family members aren’t too happy with their family’s portrayal.  At any rate, Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf gave very solid performances, bolstered by strong supporting turns by Waskikowska and Chastain.  Young actor Dane DeHaan (Chronicle) also gave a strong turn as Jack’s best friend Cricket, who becomes caught up in the war between Rakes and the Bondurants.  In short, Tom Hardy’s on a roll, and Lawless is one to see.  Grade: A