First trailer for Aaron Sorkin's 'Molly's Game' is here

If you were to compile a list of Hollywood's best screenwriters, most of them would double as some of the industry's best filmmakers. Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Spike Jonze, The Coen Brothers- these are great writers, but they're also incredible directors. However, there's one prominent exception. Ever since 1992's A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin has been known as one of the best writers in the game. He turned The West Wing into a television sensation, won an Oscar for 2010's The Social Network, and has been an integral part of the success of films like Steve Jobs and Moneyball. Sorkin's productions aren't always critical favorites (The Newsroom was trashed to death), but his specific writing style has become iconic. After a long career as an esteemed writer, Sorkin is finally trying his hand as a director, stepping behind the camera for Molly's Game. Based on the memoir of Molly Bloom, Sorkin's adaptation stars Jessica Chastain as the titular character, a brilliant young woman who establishes the world's most famous high-stakes poker game. The film has a good chance of being a potential Oscar player, and earlier today, STX Entertainment released the first trailer. Watch it below!

Sorkin's whip-smart, frenetic style of dialogue is a personal favorite of mine, and I love his knack for capturing topical events with ease. But I'm honestly not quite sure what to make of this trailer. It's certainly an intriguing concept and a compelling story, but based on this brief look, I'm not entirely sure what Sorkin is going for here. Is this a dramatic thriller? Or is it more of a comedic crime epic like Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street? The tone seems rather ambiguous, and the visual look of the film looks fairly generic. I love Sorkin as a writer, but the directorial stamp of David Fincher was essential to the success of The Social Network, and the same can be said for Bennett Miller's influence on Moneyball. Sorkin's skills as a filmmaker are still to be determined, and while I'll be there for this one, it doesn't seem like a slam dunk just yet. But hey, that cast is pretty great- Chastain is consistently terrific, Idris Elba can be wonderful in even the worst roles, and Kevin Costner has been on a good supporting streak recently. Michael Cera is totally out of place, but whatever, there's enough here to get me to the theater.

Molly's Game opens on November 22.