Written and directed by Scott Frank, based on the novel by Walter Trevis, the series is set in the 1950s and 60s and tells the story of Elizabeth “Beth” Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young orphan in Kentucky, who is a chess prodigy and quickly becomes one of the greatest chess players in the United States, and eventually, the world. The production design by Uli Hanisch is absolutely impeccable, vividly capturing the look and feel of the era, and the costume design by Gabriele Binder is spellbinding. We track Beth’s evolution from poor orphan girl in a pinafore and terrible haircut, to a sophisticated and glamorous teenager and young woman. But the aesthetics aren’t the point of the series. The point is the chess.
Oh the chess. There is so much of it. And I expect this series is a godsend to people who play and actually watch chess tournaments. But to me, there could be nothing duller than watching people move pieces around on a board. To be fair, the show does an excellent job of making this seem exciting by amping up the score (composer Carlos Rafael Rivera deserves much kudos for his soundtrack) and having the ticking chess clock in the background to ratchet up the tension and having people communicate the progress of the match in multiple analog ways as they can't simply share status updates via Google. But that technique only works for the first few matches. After a while, I was playing Candy Crush until the damn match was over and we could move on with the plot.
There’s plenty of plot, with a tone that can oftentimes veer from the cerebral to the decidedly earthy in the blink of an eye, and a whole host of characters that come in and out of Beth’s life. The first episode is actually the most powerful, with Isla Johnston playing the young orphan Beth and showcasing how she first learns to play chess from the orphanage’s custodian, Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp). We then get a wonderful turn from Marielle Heller as Alma, the woman who adopts Beth and proves to be flawed but incredibly supportive of her single-minded chess ambitions. And then there are the many men who flit through Beth’s life, mostly chess players, of course, but who all rally around in pretty fine fashion at the end, in a way that made me really love this series. Too often, we see women’s stories get sidetracked by romance, but in this show, Beth’s almost pathological genius for playing chess is front and center, and her success is paramount despite the many struggles she has to endure.
Anya Taylor-Joy is the lynchpin of this enterprise and her eyes are probably the reason she was cast. Those large peepers have to do so much acting when she’s just sitting at a chess board, and she is an absolute marvel. Beth isn’t an overly demonstrative character and is generally pretty aloof and reserved. And yet, you can sense her frustrations and elations when she is playing the game she loves, and you do understand the love she has for her friends and family, even if she is not the kind of woman who can readily display that affection. It’s a tour-de-force performance and is the main reason I kept watching. Yes I wasn’t enthralled by the chess, but I sure was enthralled by this character.
Ultimately, The Queen’s Gambit is a lush and well-crafted series. It is a bit self-indulgent and is a one-trick pony in terms of how it tries to make chess matches seem exciting, but it has an excellent cast that can see this story through and ensure our heroine triumphs. I did find myself wondering if it would have been a tighter and well-paced series if a woman was directing instead of a man who fancied himself as an auteur. We shall never know. But as someone who has been a fan of Anya Taylor-Joy since her sprightly turn in Emma, I’m glad this show has pushed her further into the spotlight, because I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing her in all the things. Less chess, more Anya please!
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