Installment #29 in Monolisticle's Ongoing Campaign Against the "Internet of Endless Listicles."
They lost me at "chess."
At first, that is.
Because when I first heard about The Queen's Gambit, I thought how could anyone make a decent show centered around chess? I almost fell asleep at the mere thought of it.
But then, that was before I knew that this phenomenal series was adapted and directed by Scott Frank, twice nominated for Academy Awards for best adapted screenplay (for Out of Sight and Logan).
That was before I realized that it starred Anya Taylor-Joy, who crushed it in Emma, surpassing even my unfairly high expectations given all the other phenomenal actresses who have played Emma after Emma after Emma.
But still….chess. Even with Frank’s formidable writing and directing chops, I was skeptical.
And yes, of course, there was the Bobby Fischer film, which I am obligated to acknowledge was an excellent film centered around chess.
But still.
Then my friend Jennifer posted about the show and how much she loved it. I thought, well, I’ll give it one episode and see what happens.
5 binged episodes later, I’m hooked.
I actually had to force myself to stop watching it, so I would have a few episodes to save for later. It was one of those “Sir, step away from the remote control!” kind of moments. Like needing one of those food dispensers that keep dogs from eating all their kibble at once.
So if a series involving a chess prodigy makes you yawningly imagine long, drawn-out sessions of marathon chess matches, I'm with you. That was my fear as well. I mean, as thrilling as a pawn-taking-a-bishop might be to chess aficionados, it doesn’t make for compelling drama. At least not in my world.
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Again, thankfully, there's Scott Frank. Frank keeps you gripped every second. By his compelling restraint. By rationing out just the right amount of back story. Frank’s gift is his ability to toy with and leverage what’s below the surface. The things that don’t happen—or that one fears might happen—are often as powerful as the things that actually do happen.
Frank also deftly avoids cliché. And cliché is my biggest pet peeve these days as producers attempt to replicate winning "formulas" in film and content. In fact the only thing cliché in this series (so far) is the “recently-orphaned-child” beginning. But that storytelling device is used so often because it is effective so often. You immediately empathize with the character and care how things turn out for her. Which you will.
The “her” in question is the astoundingly-gifted chess prodigy Beth Harmon, fittingly played by the astoundingly-talented Anya Taylor-Joy. Taylor-Joy's character is the ultimate Fiona Apple “Sullen Girl.” And every bit as enthralling. If there were a Golden Globe Award for “Best Use of One’s Eyes in a Dramatic Series,” Taylor-Joy would win it. No contest. And I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a GG nomination, if not a win, in her near-future.
The series is carried even higher by a cast of many other gifted actors, and Scott Frank calculates and plots their performances with the economy and craft of a grand master who not only wins, but wins in the fewest moves possible.
Due respect and acknowledgements to actors Moses Ingram, Isla Johnston, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Bill Camp, Marielle Heller, Christiane Seidel, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Macin Dorocinski, and Harry Melling (who, by the way, was magnificent in the Coen Brothers' film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs).
This coming-of-age story had originally been proposed as a film. Thank goodness it wasn’t. Because all of those wonderful layers and nuances that make this series so engaging would have been relegated to a sequence of time-saving montages, or simply cut out altogether.
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