Based on Walter Nevis' novel of the same title, this 2020 miniseries grabbed my interest from the beginning. Starred by Anya Taylor-Joy, who played against James McAvoy in M. Night Shyamalan's Split.
The part of the trailer that got my attention was the chess. The whole show is centralized around the game of chess. Unlike Luzhin's Defense, though The Queen's Gambit (TQG) does not stray far from authenticity in the chess games, some authenticity of the sequence of moves (i.e. the endgame of the last game) were still questionable, but this show is about drama over authenticity. Apparently some moves were skipped. I supposed I'm one of the very few who care about this in the show. That being said, I think this is not as crazy as Niel deGrasse Tyson's take on the wrong constellations being shown in the Titanic movie.
But after getting lured in by the pilot episode, and later I brought Nana into watching it, never saw her getting so much into English drama before. She's usually more of a comedy person, but even that, TVs and Movies are just not her thing.
The reason I'm writing this is not only because the story is intriguing, but there's hidden elements of the progressive, liberal, anti-Christ persuasions.
Plot:
Elizabeth Harmon, an unfortunate girl born to a mother who later committed suicide, intentionally crashing the car with her little girl in it, after a failed desperate attempt to solicit help from the apparently estranged father of her child, despite him having a great home and apparently his own other family and child.
I couldn't be sure at first, until Harmon was later adopted by a couple who are lacking support from the male department, that there's a subtle hint of feminism in the story. That basically says, men are irresponsible and cannot be relied on. But I'm getting too far ahead of myself.
At around 8, Harmon survived the suicidal car crash and perhaps even until she was much older, never understood what happened to her parents and the car crash, obviously the intent of the author for viewers' own imaginations, she was brought into an orphanage. Looks like a Catholic one to me. They watched this movie called The Robe, which I would like to get my hands on as well, as it mentioned Christ in it. Then Harmon picks up chess from the janitor, who then introduced her to his chess club's member who runs the chess team in a high school. From there, Harmon catapulted into fame.
By around 12-13, she was adopted by a couple who had lost a child but just to keep the wife "occupied" and not disturbing the husband, he suggested such adoption. The adoptive father's frequent absence later turned into complete abandonment, leaving the mother and daughter to strive for themselves, and strife they did, thanks to Harmon's chess winnings. Unfortunately, her adoptive mother's enjoyment of the chess success did not last long due to her fatal alcohol consumption as well as other problems like taking tranq. pills, etc. ending up dying on the hotel bed during one of their chess tours.
So Harmon practically raised herself from then on, with chess as a career. Meeting some very helpful gents in the chess community along the way. Her adoptive father later turned on his own words and decided to take the house back from Harmon, who bought the house from him.
Harmon's final challenge and victory is against the fictional Russian world champion, Borgov. By the way this is in the 60s, and the only real grandmasters mentioned in the story are dead ones, not the incumbent masters such as Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, etc. Her journey to this final challenge wasn't easy, especially due to various obstacle from the U.S. side: First, she lost sponsorship of the Christian Crusade which was the one initiatively approached her with the sponsorship without apparent prior condition. Harmon without hesitation wrote them back their check after they complained about her refusing to make "Christian" speech against the communist, atheistic country. The USCF also refused to help her, on top of that, they sent some federal agent to accompany her as if to ensure the U.S. looks good in the media, telling her what to say and what not to say, not that she really cared. So she basically, though representing the Americans, went to Russia to play world chess out of her own pocket.
In contrast, her celebrity in Russia gained such welcome that one can tell it is of both quantitative and qualitative differences, despite the poorer portrayal of the Russian community. Chess is more respected in the country. Tons of women waiting for her to come out to praise and getting autographs from her.
Harmon's final victory was grand. Not easy to find such modern clip these days. Despite argument on the authenticity of the board, what's important isn't the mate in 7 end game, as much as authentic they definitely tried to make it, it was the music and the artistic of narrating and graphics of it. I also enjoy the cinematography effects of a good glorious, intelligent moment. This is one of those. At what may seemed an impasse, which I thought it was, hence the ? in the authenticity of the game and the missing moves weren't actually shown and I played it myself and couldn't figure out how you go from that draw position to the M7 endgame, but no matter, Harmon turned her mind to the ceiling for solution, just as she had always done since the orphanage, visualizing moving pieces on the ceiling, only this time, the pieces are dramatically larger and the music grander, going from a light 4/4 thinking pace to the deep 6/8 analytical state of mind as her gaze moves closer to the pieces in the ceiling, showing a close up imagery of the mighty pieces on the ceiling pouncing to victory. For artistic effect, I would reflect those pieces larger on her pupils.
After that, Harmon strolls through the Russian park where she was warmly received by the Russian elderlies who were playing chess in the park. Perhaps hinting that she's emigrating to Russia. Socialist country where people are working with each other to make things work, unlike the capitalistic individualistic Americans. I think that's the gist of what the author wants to convey. And in the portrayal of a family structure is replaced by a broken one, especially for the Americans. May God have mercy.
