Based on a True Story: Molly Bloom Talks Seeing Her Own Story on the Big Screen

Bringing a story from real life to the big screen is not always a straightforward process. Nor does it often leave the original story intact, but Molly Bloom seems to feel Aaron Sorkin has done her story justice with his version of the truth. “He inflated my LSAT score, gave me a few extra points, but for the most part he made a movie that was very rooted in the truth,” she told BBC journalists on the press tour for the movie, which is making its way into UK theatres on New Year’s Day.

Molly approached Sorkin after her book was published. He is no stranger to adapting true stories, his screenplay for The Social Network – based on the true story of Facebook’s founding – won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and an Oscar, and he knocked it out of the park with his script for Moneyball. This time he’s not just writing, but directing.

The Long Road North

Bloom opted not to watch the film until it was completely finished, getting special dispensation from the US government to cross the border into Canada to watch it with an audience at the Toronto film festival. She needed that permission because she is under a travel ban as part of her punishment for the Federal charges she racked up during the time portrayed in the movie.

“There was a moment five minutes in, sitting in that theatre, where I was like, what was I thinking? This is crazy. And how am I going to get through the next two hours and 25 minutes, because I feel like I can't breathe. But halfway into that opening scene, I was just watching a movie. And I was able to get outside of myself - even though I couldn't have possibly brought more personal baggage. I was able to just watch it as an extraordinary film.”

Not Quite A Mirror

She was particularly pleased with Jessica Chastain’s portrayal of Molly herself. Chastain is no stranger to the world of telling real stories on screen (c.f. Zero Dark Thirty),  and that seems to have come across in the way she managed to portray Bloom. 

“She blew my mind because she didn't get to spend much time with me - she has a packed schedule and this was a short prep time,” Bloom said of Chastain. "I was wondering as they were filming, 'Is she just going to do her own creative interpretation of this?'. But when I watched that movie [...] she was able to communicate the intricacies of how I felt in those moments.”

In the end, it sounds like Bloom is thrilled with the way the story is told, and audiences seem to be going along for the ride with her. After living a life dramatic enough for a blockbuster movie to be made about her, one imagines the Bloom will be looking forward to a rather quieter sequel.