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Title- The Queen's Gambit
Creators- Scott Frank and Allan Scott, based on The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
Cast- Anya Taylor- Joy, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Marielle Heller, Harry Melling and more
Genre- period drama
Length- seven episodes
Platform- Netflix
Rating- 5/5 stars
Plot
The Queen's Gambit is a 2020 American coming-of-age period drama miniseries based on Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same name. It was written and directed by Scott Frank, who created it with Allan Scott. Beginning in the mid-1950s and proceeding into the 1960s, the story follows the life of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), an orphaned chess prodigy on her rise to the top of the chess world while struggling with drug and alcohol dependency.
Taken from Wikipedia.
Opinions
Everyone had been talking about The Queen's Gambit for a while. It came out towards the end of October, but I just hadn't got around to watching it. We needed a new TV show to watch, so we finally decided to watch this. It is a binge worthy show. At the end of each episode, you will want to continue watching. We watched this in about two-three days. You don't need to know much, if anything about chess. All you need is to care about the central character. I finished it about a week ago and I can't stop thinking about it.
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As it's been adapted from a book, I'd love to read it. I know that there are actually three books in the series but I think only one has been adapted for the show. I just need more of this show and world in my life. It's very high up my TBR and to be purchased list of books.
A key theme of the show is trauma. Beth goes through a lot of trauma. She looses her biological mother as a child, before loosing her adoptive mother in her teens. I felt, and I know a lot of people have felt the same, that the way trauma is shown is one of the best. It's a gradual decent rather a complete downwards spiral. Her trauma pushes her towards drug and alcohol abuse. Again these issues were handled well. Her abuse was linked to how she viewed chess. It felt realistic compared to other depictions in the media. The way these themes were handled made you care for Beth.
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Quite possibly a favourite element of the show was the relationship between Beth and Benny. Beth obviously had important relationships with Townes and Beltik, but it came nowhere near her relationship with Benny. The two had very similar outlooks towards chess. Their relationship starting from a respectful one to a mentorship to a romantic one felt smooth. It needed to happen. Benny was ten years (I think) older than her but waited until she was an adult to become interested in her. You could see it in his clothing that he cared more. Beth wore a lot of black polo necks, so Benny started wearing them. A lot of fans are sad that we didn't get to see more from their romantic relationship, all we saw was a few exchanges, but it felt right to them. They clearly care for each other but they don't need to show it explicitly. When Benny and the others phoned her in Russia with how to beat her opponent, it was one of the sweetest moments in the show. They had great chemistry.
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Another relationship I adored was that between Beth and her adoptive mother, Alma. At first after her adoptive father abandons them, I thought it was going to be a bad relationship. I thought Alma would use her for the money, but it actually grew to be a loving and supporting one. Alma may not have understood chess, but cared enough for Beth. This was quite a unique relationship for two women to have and I'm very glad they showed it. I was gutted when Alma died, but did see it coming. She was the mother figure Beth needed after her biological mother abandoned her by killing herself. A wholesome, supportive relationship between two lost women that was tragically cut short.
I really like behind the scenes elements. The soundtrack was incredible, adding to each scene so that you could understand the drama of the moment if you were not a chess player. The costume design was amazing. I watched a behind the scenes video that explained that green was a key colour to Beth. It was the colour of the drugs she took and whenever she lost, she wore green. Benny slowly transforming from a pirate to an ordinary person. The set designs were also breathtaking. It was just a very well designed show.
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I had thought that in her final match to become the chess world champion, Beth would loose. It's what made sense to me. We had seen her triumph over and over, so to loose when she had it all was the right thing to do. Having Beth win the match, while not a surprise, worked. We needed to see her loose a few times to make this win more satisfying. The ending with her dressed in white to look like the white queen on the chess board was wonderful. We didn't need to see her reunited with Benny and the others. Having Beth play chess for fun with those Russian men was an incredibly satisfying end.
That concludes my review of The Queen's Gambit, which I adored. I will probably rewatch again at some point and can't wait to read the book. What did you think of The Queen's Gambit?
Carenza :) x
