I haven't written about my favorite topic for a while - TV series. Now I have watched a series that I believe deserves our attention, so I decided to write you something about it.
What else is this life but a game of chess. After the withdrawn move, there is no going back, as well as after good or bad decisions. You can just look at the board and hope for the best. We defend, attack and in the end we win or lose. But when the game is over, the figures are put aside and that is the end. That is why this life is exciting, composed of black and white figures, black and white fields, jumpers, pawns, queens, kings, cannons and horses. Sometimes it's black, sometimes it's white and the game doesn't last forever, whether you are satisfied or not with the final outcome.
The series "The Queens Gambit" by director and screenwriter Scott Frank, based on the novel by Walter Tevis, breathes so deeply and pulsates so strongly that at times it is hard to believe that we are witnessing fiction and not true stories. Elizabeth Harmon's vivid intrusion into life, as well as life itself, is full of unexpected events that depict the reality of a girl walking somewhere on the border of genius and madness. "The Queens Gambit" as a chess maestro is a maestro of drama that we no longer see and that we have been missing for a long time.
Although it may seem so, the series does not require any knowledge of chess, or even knowledge, because the narrative is personal and full of empathy towards the numerous actors who play on the black and white fields around Elizabeth Harmon.
This silent and distant girl from the 1950s was placed in an orphanage. The mentally disturbed mother did not want to spend her life with her daughter, she just wanted to end it. The moment of parting happened on the bridge. The girl waited for the police, and the mother waited for the funeral company.
An orphanage as a safe home, until conditions are created for others, is the greatest tragedy and the greatest happiness in Elizabeth's life. The girls were fed daily vitamin tablets and "mood pills". Instead of "mood", there was a serious and manic addiction to drugs. Elizabeth's love for green and blue pills opened the door to a new world. A world in which she could plan every move in advance solves even the most difficult mathematical problems. The boundless view shot up before her eyes when she first saw the janitor playing chess with himself. Raw talent, lack of any social skills and addiction that will get out of control in order to ruin her life, Elizabeth is leading a long way.
From the label "child prodigy", through adoption and living with a dysfunctional family, to the desire to beat the famous Russian chess player, "The Queen's Gambit" is as intimate as a whisper and personal as a defeat in a game in which no one likes to lose.
Elizabeth Harmon's life did not turn out the way she wanted, so the chessboard, as a controlled and limited living conditions, is a great place where she can maneuver the situation so as not to lose. The inner world of the heroine, in addition to the desire to win and strong anxiety from defeat, melts the story into a case study of addiction and alcoholism. The dominant motive of the narrative is the feeling of isolation and loneliness, which are the main drivers of bigger problems, but of a problematic life.
Elizabeth, as the only woman in the chess world, is a kind of finger in the eye, but an object for humiliating the opponent, because how is it possible for a red-haired girl to whip much older guys. An ingenious look at the gender aspect and the sporting spirit in the game is an emotional lure that sells the story as if it were made on true events.
"The Queen's Gambit" was filmed and directed with incredible care, elegance and love for the story. The composition of the shots, the choice of color palettes and the subtle change of tones in accordance with the events atmospherically affects every condition that the heroine goes through.
Anya Taylor Joy as Elizabeth Harmon is the best acting choice in recent television history. The actress is able to describe the psychological and emotional state of the character without a single spoken word with the help of facial expression. The spectacular acting of Anja Taylor Joy, which accompanies the rest of the ensemble, raises the series to an even higher level. After Robert Egars' "The Witch", this is the best role she has ever had.
This is a new Netflich series, released this year. In my opinion, "The Queen's Gambit" is the best example of the attractiveness of the material based on care. It did not happen soon that someone approached the adaptation with so much love. Take a peek into the series through Netflix’s official trailer, and I’d recommend you take the time to watch it.
Great educational series!!!