Pros: Great acting by Anya Taylor-Joy; atmosphere and surroundings of the 60-70s. last century; interesting theme and plot Cons: Some cranberries in the final episode of The Queen’s Gambit / “The Queen’s Gambit”
Drama genre
Creators Scott Frank, Allan Scott
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy (Beth Harmon), Isla Johnston (Beth Harmon as a child), Moses Ingram (Jolene), Bill Camp (Mr. Scheibel), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Benny Watts), Marcin Dorocinski (Vassily Borgov), Mariel Heller (Alma Wheatley), Harry Melling (Harry Beltik), Rebecca Root (Miss Lonsdale), etc.
Netflix channel
Release year 2020
Episode 7
Site IMDb
Anya Taylor-Joy, the leading lady in The Queen’s Gambit, is truly a very gifted actress. She performed well in Split/Glass, performed well in Peaky Blinders, but after her work in Emma. her acting talent became undeniable. Well, The Queen’s Gambit only confirmed the obvious, Anya Taylor-Joy is one of the most powerful actresses of the new generation. Also in Emma. she showed how she can play halftones with just her facial expressions, we see the same thing in the series about chess player Beth Harmon. Anya changes from scene to scene, sometimes slipping into madness, sometimes remaining absolutely concentrated and detached. Great job, The Queen’s Gambit is worth watching just for this actress. However, the series has other merits as well.
The Queen’s Gambit is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by science fiction writer Walter Stone Tevis, published in 1983. The Queen’s Gambit was one of the last works of the writer, who died the following year. If you suddenly think that the main theme of the series, and this includes feminism, is prompted by the modern agenda, then I’m afraid to disappoint you, it was laid down by Tevis back in the early 80s. last century.
The novel was included in the list of potential interest for film adaptation immediately after publication. Already in 1983, New York Times journalist Jesse Kornbluth began writing the script, but this work, despite the interest of some directors and actors, was interrupted by the death of Walter Tevis. In 1992, the rights to the film adaptation were acquired by screenwriter Allan Scott, who wanted to make an art-house film out of the novel, among the possible directors of which were, for example, Bernardo Bertolucci, the creator of The Last Emperor, which brought him nine Oscars. But this time it didn’t work either.
In 2007, Allan Scott returned to the idea of a film adaptation, offering it to Heath Ledger, for whom the film could have become his directorial debut. It was planned to invite twenty-year-old Ellen Page to play the main role. Alas, these plans were not destined to come true; Heath Ledger died in January 2008.
In 2019, Netflix acquired the rights by ordering a miniseries of seven episodes, the showrunners of which were the same Allan Scott and Scott Frank, known for working on the scripts for such films and TV series as Out of Sight (1998), Shameless (2013), Logan (2017). ) and Godless. Well Scott and Frank know their stuff, The Queen’s Gambit script is really good.
The Queen’s Gambit is the story of a girl, Beth Harmon, who loses her mother at an early age and ends up in an orphanage. At the orphanage, Beth becomes involved in a strange experiment using tranquilizers on children, and she also learns to play chess by watching the school janitor, Mr. Shaibel, play. So chess and drugs become a passion for Beth, who believes that only in a state of euphoria is she able to calculate complex combinations in her mind. A little later, Beth Harmon is adopted, and she begins to take part in serious tournaments, including international ones, where she faces strong Soviet grandmasters. Drugs, alcohol and chess are practically all that interests the matured Beth Harmon. But the Soviet world champion is not at all someone who can be beaten while high.
The Queen’s Gambit has many overlaps with the 2015 film Pawn Sacrifice, which tells the story of the 1972 world chess championship match between Boris Spassky and Robert Fischer. This is not surprising, because in The Queen’s Gambit two characters are based on the image of Robert Fischer, and the book itself was written under the impression of the chess boom of the 70s. Actually, Robert Fisher in The Queen’s Gambit is both the crazy and brilliant Beth Harmon herself and her extravagant rival and coach Benny Watts. Well, in the Soviet champion Vasily Borgov one can easily discern the same Boris Spassky.
As in Pawn Sacrifice, in The Queen’s Gambit, especially in the last episodes, there is a spirit of confrontation between ideologies, but here the authors draw slightly different conclusions. In addition, in the last episode there is quite a lot that is typical for films of the 70s and 80s. spreading cranberries about the Soviet Union. I am not at all defending the cannibalistic Soviet regime, but I would still like to see its depiction in modern films without such ridiculous attributes as vodka for any occasion and in any situation, and deliberately gloomy interiors in the spirit of the Galactic Empire from Star Wars.
Apart from the episodes in the USSR in the last episode, The Queen’s Gambit is an incredibly beautiful and stylish series. Spirit of the 60-70s. the last century literally vibrates in every frame, in every interior, in the costumes of heroes and especially heroines, in many bright little details. At times, the picture in The Queen’s Gambit resembles the picture in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, unsurprisingly, there are less than ten years between the periods shown in these series.
In addition to Anya Taylor-Joy mentioned at the very beginning, I would like to draw attention to the rest of the cast, and first of all to young Isla Johnston, who plays the role of Beth Harmon as a child. In addition, Bill Camp (Mr. Scheibel), the never-growing Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Benny Watts), Mariel Heller (Alma Wheatley) and Harry Melling (Harry Beltik) did an excellent job in their roles.
Although The Queen’s Gambit is a series about chess and chess players, even the most basic knowledge of the game will be enough for you to understand what is happening on the screen. After all, the main thing here is not the openings and endgames played by the opponents, but Beth Harmon’s struggle with the world and with herself. By the way, how and with what help a girl will eventually cope with her addiction is shown in the series very correctly – this is the support of others. And although The Queen’s Gambit has obvious analogies with the same Patrick Melrose, the story in this series is less traumatic, although Beth Harmon’s problems also go back to her childhood.
The Queen’s Gambit is a very beautiful, well-produced and well-acted series, one of the jewels in Netflix’s crown this season. We hope critics will also remember this show during the distribution of awards. Viewers, judging by the ratings on the same Metacritic and IMDb, have already appreciated The Queen’s Gambit. Well, I just have to join them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrieqwSdgI
Conclusion:
An excellent sports drama about a talented chess player and her struggle with inner demons
