8 Days - December 07, 2017

16

8 DAYS

scene & Heard

WHY WATCH: The award-

winning writer of The Social

Network and Steve Jobs

makes his directorial debut!

THE LOWDOWN: The

remarkable true story

of Molly Bloom (Jessica

Chastain), a one-time

Olympic-calibre skier-turned-

Hollywood poker madam. As a

madam, Bloom ran high-stakes poker games for the

rich and famous — until Johnny Law came banging on

her door when she got mixed up with the Russian mob.

THE BUZZ: Since its Toronto International Film

Festival premiere in September, there’s been a lot of

Oscar talk surrounding Jessica Chastain’s electrifying

performance as Molly Bloom. Needless to say, having

Chastain onboard is the reason screenwriting legend

PHOTOS: SHAW ORGANISATION

Molly’s Game

STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN, IDRIS ELBA, KEVIN COSTNER DIRECTED BY BY AARON SORKIN

Aaron Sorkin found his transition from scribe to helmer

a breeze. “There are certain things an actor can’t act,”

said Sorkin. “They can’t pretend to be smart or funny.

Jessica brings those things and much other strengths.”

Chastain, who’s no stranger to playing complex,

establishment-challenging women (see Zero Dark Thirty,

A Most Violent Year and Miss Sloane), said, “What

fascinated me is the idea of what it means for a woman

to find success in our modern society. What does she

have to become for men to allow her to be a leader?

Spider-Man is an a-hole: The film is adapted from Molly

Bloom’s 2014 memoir, Molly’s Game: Hollywood’s Elite to

Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in

the World of Underground. In the book, Bloom — who was

sentenced to 12 months’ probation and fined US$1,000 for

illegal gambling — dishes on her celebrity clientele, which

included Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire.

The latter, according to her, was a bad loser and a bad

tipper.