Le Jeu de la dame

I've never played chess in my life, yet I decided to watch The Queen's Gambit, mainly because of the enthusiastic reactions and the participation of Anya Taylor-Joy, whom I've always liked in her roles. Although the world of chess is double Dutch to me, I let myself drift on the moves on the checkered board for six and a half hours, watching the incredible story of a young girl who experiences what it's like to be at the top, but also at the bottom. I loved the non-linear plot structure, which intertwined the present day with childhood memories, so that the viewer is provided with the individual pieces of the puzzle that make up the "complex picture" of the main character in purposefully small doses. I was intrigued by the depiction of the chess game in Beth's head and its subsequent projection on the ceilings. The creators managed to incorporate several still relevant themes into the story in a tasteful and believable way – alcoholism, drugs, family and love relationships, and relations between world powers – and as a result The Queen’s Gambit takes on a much broader scope than the "8x8 board" (which for some it may mean basically the whole world). It was fascinating to watch the development and coming of age of the main character and her interaction with other people who have influenced her in various ways in her (at times very winding and thorny) journey through life. I have no complaints about the cast, as I think everyone involved played their roles almost perfectly and grabbed a more or less memorable scene for themselves. Last but not least, I have to praise the production design, the costumes and the overall artistic styling of the individual scenes, which take you back in time several decades, while making it look natural and believable. You almost feels tempted to learn chess after watching it and thus penetrate the secrets of Sicilian defences and queen’s gambits. (05/02/2021)

I have a thing for retro vibes, so the creators scored points with me from the very beginning. I didn't mind that it wasn't a Cold War spy action game, because I thoroughly enjoyed all the matches taking place on the sixty-four squares, and I was sure I would be a really satisfied viewer. But I just didn’t buy the finale. I was disappointed by the naive depiction of the situation in the USSR. Too bad, five stars would have really suited this series otherwise. (18/12/2020)

The Queen’s Gambit-drama-chess, I can’t think of a more repulsive label for a movie or series, and I'm even more surprised and shocked at how great The Queen’s Gambit turned out to be, thanks to the disarming Anya Taylor-Joy, who is already the modern Scream Queen when it comes to horror movies, and now is becoming the Queen of Chess, and hopefully soon the Oscars. This 6-hour series tells a riveting zero to hero story about an ugly duckling from an orphanage who gains a liking for the royal game of chess, discovers that she is extremely talented and decides to make the most of her talents. Anya literally brings one master after another to their knees and I enjoyed it immensely. The tournaments have drive and the different formations, tactics, offense, defense and strategy are filmed as if I were watching a brutal historical battle with the Romans. I wasn't bored for a second, I lived every moment, cried with emotion most of the time and literally didn't even breathe and screamed with excitement in the ending. If someone had told me at the beginning of the year that The Queen’s Gambit would be the event of the year for me and that I would want to watch it again immediately after finishing it, I would have laughed them off. The Queen's Gambit is a wonderful story, with great acting performances, a thoughtful script, amazing music, personal demons (drugs, alcohol) and a beautiful period setting in 1960's USA. Story*****, Action>No, Humor**, Violence*, Entertainment*****, Music*****, Visual*****, Atmosphere*****, Suspense****. 10/10. (12/11/2020)

Another fine Netflix series that is remarkably similar to The Crown in its craftsmanship, period feel and focus on a detailed study of a strong female protagonist in a man's world. It's just less expansive and deals almost exclusively with chess instead of politics. And just as The Crown is primarily about the life of a statesperson, The Queen’s Gambit is filmed in such a way that diehard fans of the supporting theme – chess – will find it enjoyable, but more mainstream viewers who need the classic, emotional level of the plot to be entertained will not be bored either. This series has almost everything. Occasionally, the gaudy production design and visual effects are disappointing, but it's no fun to do retro on a limited budget, so it can be overlooked. An awesome “bad guy” in Borg and Anya Taylor-Joy excelling like never before. (16/12/2023)

Of course, it's not "quality TV", it's not meta and extra socially conscious, gender subversive, etc., but it is simply brilliantly written, built dramatically and honestly, elegantly shot and excellently cast/ orchestrated. In terms of mainstream ranks, The Crown can currently compete with it, with which it shares a similar lightness and accessibility, but there is nothing trivial about it. It is based on the classic zero to hero scheme, but with such a degree of persuasiveness and thoughtfulness that I completely forgive its predictability. I just went along with Beth like few other heroes lately. (08/11/2020)