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Last update: Friday June 3, 2005 9:44
Director: Marleen Gorris; Starring: John
Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, Christopher Thompson,
Fabio Sartor, Peter Blythe, Orla Brady, Mark Tandy & Kelly Hunter. Certificate:
12.
Grandmaster Alexander Luzhin (John Turturro) arrives at the beautiful Lake Como to compete in a tournament for the World Championship and soon meets his fellow Russian, Natalia Katkova (Emily Watson), and promptly falls for her. Turturro, renowned for playing characters with unusual personalities, does an excellent job of being the nervous and obsessed grandmaster, who fails to understand small talk and spends his time away from the board making notes and preparing for his next game. Luzhin asks Natalia to marry him and indeed she soon starts to fall for him, much to the annoyance of her mother, well portrayed by Geraldine James. She instead wants Natalia to marry the Comte Jean de Stassard, and desperately attempts to change her daughter's mind.
Luzhin starts the tournament deeply troubled by his childhood and cheating father, and psychological matters go from bad to worse for him as his bitter former mentor, Valentinov, arrives, determined to help Luzhin's Italian rival take the crown. Once Natalia agrees to his request and starts to organise some aspects of his disheveled lifestyle, Luzhin's early poor form vanishes as he qualifies from his section for the final, although his nervous manner at the board remains. A time scramble sees Luzhin, his usual nervous self at the board, thumping the clock and slamming down pieces in a manner that might even intimidate Kasparov, but suddenly Luzhin's past and Valentinov's presence overwhelm his mind, causing him to freeze, but fortunately his flag falls after the time control.
Determined to prevent Luzhin winning after the adjournment, Valentinov, in a rather far fetched part of the film, has him driven to and left alone on a mountainside. Helped by Natalia, Luzhin recovers, but has to confront that he must give up chess, to save both himself and to live with Natalia; a situation which leads to his suicide.
Dutch Director, Gorris, who won an Oscar for her 1997 'Antonia's Line', has produced a superb period film and the recruitment of Jon Speelman, as the chess advisor, ensures that the tournament appears incredibly authentic. Luzhin meanwhile is able to make a number of attractive combinations in his games, whilst technology is well used to portray his thought patterns as he calculates variations at the board. Aside from the superb costumes and setting, in both Italy and Budapest, the acting is very good, with Turturro and Watson, brilliant at displaying intelligent curiosity, particularly excellent. Purists may, however, dislike the fact that the film is not true to the original book, 'The Defence' by Vladimir Nakobov, who went on from this success to write, amongst others works, 'Lolita'. Flashbacks to Luzhin's troubled upbringing do not present a clear message, and present more questions than answers.
Even non-chess players should enjoy this film with its gripping, romantic and tragic story line, whilst for chess players, who will understand some of the subtleties far more, such as Luzhin's determination to avoid being saddled with an IQP, this film, with its excellent portrayals of the tension of a tournament, is a must see.