Don't Make a Scene: Molly's Game

The Story: Happy Father's Day, btw

Here's another one of those scenes that you see go by on the screen and you instantly know it's a classic.* It's from Molly's Game, which was one of the films I found exceptional in 2016. Too few people have seen it.

In this scene, the character of Molly Bloom, "The Poker Princess," (played by Jessica Chastain) facing federal charges, has a near meltdown before her trial begins, and, who should show up? Her estranged father (played by Kevin Costner), who made her push her through the pain when she was competing in skiing competitions when she was just a kid. Now, he's doing it again.

Great. Thanks, Dad.

But, it's a great scene, full of volatility, snarky humor, hubris and self-deprecation, and the familial contempt allowed between family members that would never pass with total strangers or mere acquaintances. It is battle, with defenses full-up and going for the jugular with the sharpest of barbs. It is sparring between opponents who know each other only too well (and where there's no place to hide) and, in fact, had hands in creating the other.

It's also about truth and bullshit.

And so much of Molly's Game is about bullshit, which is a tool in the craft of poker. Bluffing is bullshit, and the use of power over reality. Because the truth is laying the cards on the table. Everything up to that point is calculation, maneuvering, and play-acting. Subterfuge. Psychology. Reality is determined by the clubs, the spades, the diamonds...and the heart. And what you can show.

It's also a great display of acting between Chastain and Costner—he has a grand time chewing on Sorkin's dialog and tossing it away—who take a scene of bitterly sarcastic jousting and still earn its sentiment at the end.

Really, it's fine.

The Set-Up: Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) is a former Olympic skier whose career ended due to a freak accident during a competition. She decides to take a break after recovering rather than going to law school. Happenstance and talent leads her to running an underground high-stakes poker racket for ten years, an activity that has attracted the interest of the FBI, who have indicted her on federal racketeering charges. Her trial is about to begin and so she goes skating. Her long-absent father (Kevin Costner) shows up in the nick of time...at 30 Rock at the skating rink.

Action!

As the RINK EMPLOYEES continue to skate MOLLY off the ice like a prisoner, her father asks simply-- 

FATHER How’s it goin’? 

EXT. BENCH NEAR THE RINK - A FEW MOMENTS LATER 

MOLLY’s father puts her coat over her as she sits on the bench.

MOLLY  What are you doing in New York and how did you know I was at the skating rink?  

FATHER I’m both your father and a doctor of the mind. 
MOLLY Hah. Dad.

FATHER I’m in New York because that’s where you are and I called your mom at the hotel and she said you were here. 

FATHER Listen, it’s not a big deal but from what I saw out there I think you’re having a small breakdown.

MOLLY That's weird. I can't think of why. 

FATHER Probably because of the arrest and not knowing what's going to happen next. 

MOLLY Old man, do you really not recognize sarcasm? 

FATHER Do you? 

FATHER Here, drink this.
He hands her a Styrofoam cup.  

MOLLY I'm an alcoholic, I can't drink but thanks for remembering. 

FATHER It's hot chocolate. 

MOLLY Okay. 

FATHER And for diagnostic purposes, do you think that we're on a cocktail lounge right now? 

FATHER You seeing waiters with trays of champagne? 

FATHER I want to check your pulse.

He takes her wrist and looks at his watch. 

MOLLY Have you found a pulse? 
FATHER Yeah, 

FATHER ...just admiring my watch. 

MOLLY I can see you're getting warmed up but I really don't have the emotional bandwidth to defend my "as usual irresponsible behavior." 
FATHER I know, I got your e-mail. I get that I'm not welcome in your life right now...

FATHER ...as your father though you should know I could give a shit if I'm welcome or not. But I'm not here in my capacity as your father. 

FATHER I'm indifferent to whether your father lives or dies. 

FATHER  I'm a very expensive therapist and I'm here to give you one free session.

MOLLY You think what I need right now is a therapist? 

FATHER Yeah. 

MOLLY I have to be back at my lawyer's office soon. 

FATHER Do you like your lawyer? 

MOLLY I wasn't asking for money when I called you, Dad. I just needed my dad. 

MOLLY God forbid you part with a nickel. 
FATHER Yeah, Tiny Tim, you grew up on a lake and you've skied all over the world,

FATHER ...were those work houses tough? 
MOLLY I gotta go. 

FATHER -Molly. 
MOLLY -I gotta go. 

FATHER Molly, sit the fuck down! 

MOLLY does as she’s told. There’s a long silence before...

FATHER All right, we're gonna do three years of therapy in three minutes. 

MOLLY How? 

FATHER I'm gonna do what patients have been begging therapists to do... 

FATHER ...for a hundred years, I'm just gonna give you the answers. 
MOLLY To what? 

FATHER Well, let's start with this. Why does a young woman who, at 22, has a gold-plated resume, why does she run poker games? 

MOLLY Why did I choose to make a ton of money? That's a head scratcher. 
FATHER You were gonna be a success at anything you wanted, 

FATHER ...you know it. If you'd gone to law school you'd have owned the law firm right now. Why did you do the other thing instead? 

MOLLY I don't know. Drugs.

Her father waves that off-- 

FATHER You didn't start with the drugs until the end. They weren't the problem, they were the medicine. 

FATHER It was so you could control powerful men. 

FATHER Your addiction was having power over powerful men. 

MOLLY Is that what you really think? 

FATHER No. I know it for sure. 

FATHER You've now completed your first year of therapy. 

MOLLY I saw an opportunity, it wasn't about you. 

FATHER Nah, it wasn't just about me. 

MOLLY It wasn't at all about you. 

FATHER -It was. 

FATHER Second year, second question. 

MOLLY Do you think you were a good husband? 

FATHER What do you care? 

MOLLY I care because you were married to my mother. 

MOLLY I care because my father's an asshole. 

FATHER Congratulations, you've completed...

FATHER ...Year Two. And for the record, your father raised three kids on a college professor's salary. 

FATHER One of them is a two-time Olympian, a sixth round draft pick of the... 

FATHER ...Philadelphia Eagles and a leading philanthropist. 

FATHER The other is a cardiothorasic surgeon at Mass General... 

FATHER ...and the third managed to build a multi-million dollar business using not much more than her wits. 

MOLLY I'm about to plead guilty in federal court. 

FATHER Well, nobody's perfect. 

FATHER The point is I did a few things right. 

FATHER Last question. 

MOLLY No, I have to go. 

FATHER Last question, Mol. I'll answer it but you have to ask it. 

FATHER You have... to ask it. 

MOLLY Why didn't you like me as much as my brothers? 

FATHER There it is. 

FATHER I did. 

FATHER It only from time to time appeared that I didn't. 

MOLLY It only appeared that you didn't? 
FATHER Yeah. 

MOLLY That is some Schedule 1 bullshit. Why would-
FATHER -it only appeared- 

MOLLY- Why would--Okay, I had an attitude problem. I talked back. I broke some normal adolescent rules. I snuck phone time after curfew,

MOLLY I took your car when I wasn't allowed to-- 
FATHER And drove it into a McDonald's. 

MOLLY And kids get punished for that, but they don't-- 
FATHER Did I not say the McDonald's? I mean, did you misunderstand what drive-thru meant? 

MOLLY You turned into a different person, your voice, your face. 
FATHER -It's because I knew you knew. 

MOLLY I didn't hear what you said. 

FATHER I said I knew you knew. 

MOLLY You knew I knew what? 
FATHER (V.O.) What do you uh,...
CAMCORDER 
The birthday interview we saw at the beginning--

FATHER...think about the following concepts? Just gonna run 'em by you. Marriage. 

MOLLY It is a trap.
CUT BACK TO: 
EXT. PARK - SAME TIME 

FATHER That I was cheating on Mom. 

FATHER I knew you knew.
CAMCORDER

FATHER -Society. 
MOLLY -It is a joke.
EXT. PARK - SAME TIME 

MOLLY No, I didn't know unt-- until I was 20.  
(V.O.) People.
CAMCORDER  

MOLLY -I don't trust people.
(V.O.) No, you'd known since you were five.
EXT. PARK - SAME TIME 

FATHER You saw me in my car and you really didn't know what you saw. 

CAMCORDER

MOLLY I don't have any heroes.
EXT. PARK - SAME TIME 

FATHER You knew, honey. 

FATHER And I knew you knew, and that's... 

FATHER That's how I reacted to the shame. 

FATHER And you reacted by... 

FATHER ...showing seething contempt for me, by... 

FATHER ...driving my car into a McDonald's... 

MOLLY And wanting to have power over powerful men? 
FATHER No. 

FATHER That was a red herring just to make you mad. 

MOLLY -You're such an-- 
FATHER You tripped over a stick! OKAY? 

FATHER Twelve years ago you tripped over a stick. It was a... 

FATHER ...one-in-a-million thing. You tripped over a stick. That's what you did wrong. 

FATHER There's your session. 

FATHER It's funny how much faster you can go when you're not charging by the hour. 

FATHER I'm your father. Trying to comprehend how much I love you would be like trying to visualize the size of the universe. 

FATHER I didn't know you got beaten up until I...

FATHER ...read it in your book. It was a hell of a way to learn about it. You should know that I'm...

FATHER ...hiring someone to find the guy who did it then I'm hiring someone to kill him. 

MOLLY Don't even joke about that. 
FATHER I'm not. 

MOLLY It wasn't a purse snatcher, Dad, it was the mafia. 
FATHER I don't care...

FATHER ...if it's the leader of Hamas. 

FATHER Someone put their hands on you. They're gonna suffer. 

MOLLY looks and sees to her surprise that her father is crying. She holds him--

MOLLY -Dad, I'm fine.
Her father is holding her tight.

FATHER -No, they're gonna suffer. 

MOLLY Dad, I'm all right. 

FATHER No. They're gonna suf--

MOLLY Really, I'm fine.

They keep holding each other tight as the skaters skate in the background.

Molly's Game

Words by Aaron Sorkin

Pictures by Charlotte Bruus Christensen and Aaron Sorkin 

Molly's Game is available in DVD and Blu-Ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

* There are those who will disagree: I direct you to this article at Collider by their Senior Editor for Film, Matt Goldberg, who chose to take time off from writing click-bait to say that "I’ve seen Molly’s Game twice now and both times the scene not only grinds the movie to a halt, but also damages everything that came before." He concludes by saying "...to simply have a character randomly show up to explain that motivation, and have the explainer be the last person who should impart that information, cripples the movie. It doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to enjoy the rest of Molly’s Game, but it does show how one truly awful scene can hurt the rest of the picture." Good to know. 

It's an interesting read, but I don't agree with it...at all.