Based on the true story of Molly Bloom who ran a high stakes poker game in L.A. and New York before being arrested in an FBI sting relating to the Russian mafia. Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut features his usual dazzling writing (he is responsible for The West Wing, The Newsroom, Steve Jobs and the Social Network to name a few) with another powerhouse performance from Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, Interstellar, A Most Violent Year).

Opening with Bloom at the American Olympic trials as a skier, we are treated to a fast paced voice over from Chastain describing mogul skiing in detail and the results of a survey on what the worst thing to happen in sport could be. For seemingly no other reason than Sorkin and Chastain are able to turn the prose into riveting viewing. And this sets the tone for what is a gripping watch. Sorkin proving he is capable of directing as well as he can write and Chastain delivering in scene after scene.

As the film jumps between Bloom’s rise running poker games and her defence case there are some good supporting turns too. Idris Elba is solid as her attorney, Kevin Costner continues his career resurgence as a complicated father and Michael Cera gets to be devious as the unnamed Player X (allegedly based on Tobey Maguire as Bloom’s game involved many Hollywood stars). But in the end this is Chastain’s film and as with Miss Sloane earlier this year she is a force of nature worth watching any film for.