The Queen's Gambit (2020)'s comments

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Judging from its viewing numbers, The Queen's Gambit is really good at making high-level chess at least emotionally understandable, and even though I once played chess regularly (until a nasty incident where a sore loser pile-drived me into the floor - true story), the strategies went well over my head. But it's essentially a sports movie in 7 episodes, and I don't know anything about sports either. Point is, once Anya Taylor-Joy's character starts going to tournaments, it gets quite addictive, and I especially like the subtlety of the psych-outs - what you could call the metaphorical chess game between the players - and how they never hang a sign on them. Your suspicion is the character's. Less subtle is the whole back story and how it becomes part of her cycle of addiction, and cared very little for this melodramatic element. Just stuff I've seen a hundred times in rock star narratives. If you know how a sports movie works, you can basically predict which matches will be won or lost - at least, before the final one - but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment. It's really about passion, discipline and obsession, has a nice sense of place and time (including a strong women's lib vibe that suits the '60s), and is very well played and shot thanks. Almost makes me want to get the ol' board out.

3 years 10 months ago

Earring72

Great looking, well acted drama series.

3 years 6 months ago

imokaylarry

The hype is baffling.
I’d say that Anya Taylor Joy does her best porn teen performance, except that I don’t think she actually acts here, instead simply flirting with the camera for seven episodes. Which isn’t necessarily unpleasant but it doesn’t exactly make for a deep character. It’s a perfectly watchable series, except when it isn’t - it’s often painfully slow and tends to follow a pattern of dull first halves that eventually build up some sort of flow, usually culminating in her winning or losing a chess match. Much of this is extremely repetitive filler; this is a 2 and a half hour by-the-numbers feel-good sports movie stretched out into a series. The biggest problem for me is probably the chess itself. While they make the matches watchable and emotionally involving, we’re not given the chance to engage in the sport itself. As someone who has only causally played chess but would be interested in learning more about it, I took absolutely nothing from this regarding chess, nor could I follow any of the moves the characters were making or how they might impact the game. When you think about how much of this series is people playing chess (there’s a LOT of chess), that’s absolutely shocking.

2 years 11 months ago

TheStonyField

The strongest part is the beginning, but it stays entertaining throughout. Knowing virtually nothing about chess, I was disappointed to learn that Beth Harmon was not a real person, and that no woman has actually done this yet.

2 years 5 months ago