The Queen's Gambit
netflixA Netflix original limited series worth keeping an eye on, Anya Taylor-Joy leads The Queen’s Gambit in a slick, entertaining watch and a great follow up to Scott Frank’s previous Netflix series, Godless. As well as this, the show is adapted from the immensely popular book written by Walter Tevis – his other novels include The Hustler and The Color of Money, which should insinuate The Queen’s Gambit already has a host of talent stacked behind it.
The plot centers on Taylor-Joy’s Beth Harmon from her younger years as an orphan, through to her early twenties in the 1960s, all while she struggles to cement herself as a Grandmaster in chess. Chess might not sound the most particularly exhilarating of sports, but Tevis has already proven himself worthy of making seemingly mundane sports the most exciting. Beth proves herself to be something of a prodigy whilst residing at the orphanage and spends the majority of her time in the basement, learning and practising with Mr Shaibel (a wonderful Bill Camp). However, it is not until she has been adopted by Mrs Alma (Marielle Heller, taking a break from being behind the camera) that she can enter the real world of chess and take on opponents who offer some sort of a threat.
Taylor-Joy is perfect. With several episodes to play with, she gets to eat into the character of Beth Harmon and explore the part over several years. She captures the doe-eyed innocence of a fourteen-year old Beth, as well as the sexually charged promiscuity of a strong woman exploring love and life. Beth is undoubtedly a cocksure prodigy – Taylor-Joy brings a definitive swagger in those early episodes but shows the subtle (and sometimes, not so subtle) cracks of doubt when Beth starts coming up against superior players. Beth really is a character that allows for a deep exploration, and Taylor-Joy proves herself worthy of portraying all these nuances. It’s her best role and performance, to date.
However, she is not the only acting talent present as the supporting cast is rounded out by some other strong people, too. The aforementioned Camp and Heller are welcome and really deserved some juicer moments, whilst Harry Melling (who Netflix seem to have adopted) shows he has shed Harry Potter completely, playing a love interest of Beth’s and one of her very first opponents. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (reteaming with Frank) oozes charm and sleazy swagger as Benny; it’s a similar part to that in Godless, but certainly a welcome turn from the child roles that Brodie-Sangster is working desperately, and successfully, to get out of.
It’s a wonderful cast of characters with a number of compelling themes. The series covers coming-of-age dramas, sex, drug addiction and alcoholism – some could have been tackled with more subtlety or had more time in the spotlight, but all feel necessary and important. Yet, even with all this, the chess games are where it’s at. Frank’s greatest success with The Queen’s Gambit is making the chess so accessible. The rules are rarely explained or touched upon, but it really doesn’t matter. Every game of chess – and there are many – is shot as if it’s the most intense sporting event in history. The stakes are high, the pressure is on and, even if one isn’t quite sure what’s happening on the board, Frank makes it obvious what’s happening around it.
It’s hard to imagine someone not getting wrapped up in this show. It’s Netflix binge addiction at its finest and proves that anything can be made cool, including chess.