Series Review: "The Queen's Gambit" (2020).

From the director of Godless and Netflix comes The Queen's Gambit. This coming-of-age period drama streaming television miniseries created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott, adapted and directed by Frank, and based on Walter Tevis' 1983 novel of the same name. In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.

In late March 2019, it was announced that Netflix gave a series order, consisting of six episodes, for an adaptation of Tevis' 1983 novel with Frank to adapt and direct. Scott had been involved in attempts to get the book on screen since 1992, when he purchased the screenplay rights from Tevis' widow. Heath Ledger was originally attached to direct a film adaptation with Elliot Page in the lead role before his untimely death. Alongside the series order announcement, it was announced that Anya Taylor-Joy was set to star as the lead. By early September, Bill Camp, Christiane Seidel, Marielle Heller, Harry Melling, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster rounded out the series' cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late December. Filming took place in Berlin, Germany and Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and chess coach Bruce Pandolfini acted as consultants. Pandolfini had consulted with Tevis prior to the novel's publication some thirty-eight years earlier, even coming up with the title The Queen's Gambit. Pandolfini, together with consultants John Paul Atkinson and Iepe Rubingh came up with several hundred chess positions to be used for various situations in the script. Then Kasparov developed critical moments in the story, such as when a real 1998 game between grandmasters Arshak Petrosian and Vladimir Akopian was improved to showcase Beth Harmon's skill. In an interview, Taylor-Joy said that before taking the role, her level of chess knowledge was "0, none." She went on to say that throughout the filming of the series, she was "invited into a very secret world..." She elaborated, "it was so exciting to be able to have the pressure of 'you have to learn this very complicated sequence, over 3 boards, as quick as you can in 5 minutes'..." She concluded, "it's up there with the proudest I've ever been of something that my brain was able to do because I tricked myself into believing I was a really good chess player." Brodie-Sangster and Melling also admitted that they knew very little about the game prior to filming.

The series stars Taylor-Joy, Camp, Seidel, Heller, Melling, and Brodie-Sangster. There's great acting to be found thanks to the talented cast led by Taylor-Joy.

The series is a work of confident artistry, casting well-worn clichés and archetypes in a fresh, illuminating light. I'm a sucker for the stories of a talented yet tortured prodigy. And I love it even more when those stories recognize the social realities of the time. The series does all that and more. I can definitely appreciate Frank tackling this particular untouched subject matter.

Simon says The Queen's Gambit receives:

Also, see my review for Godless.