The series The Queen's Gambit well reflects the vibrant atmosphere of the 60-70s of the last century, the unusual appearance of the main character with a difficult fate, talented actors, and, of course, an exciting game of chess.
Anya Taylor-Joy, the lead actress in The Queen's Gambit, already well-known thanks to psychological horror films Split and Glass, crime drama series Peaky Blinders, and comedy-drama film Emma, once again showed excellent performance.
The Queen's Gambit is a film adaptation of the same name novel by science fiction writer Walter Tevis, published in 1983.
Many tried to film this novel immediately after publication, but only in 2019, Netflix acquired the rights by ordering a seven-episode miniseries.
The Queen's Gambit is the story of Beth Harmon, a girl who lost her mother in early childhood and ended up in an orphanage. At the orphanage, Beth became a participant in a strange experiment on the use of tranquilizer pills on children. The orphanage custodian teaches her to play chess and sees great potential in Beth, but Beth believes that she can play chess so excellently only by taking tranquilizer pills.
After being adopted, Beth enrolls herself in chess tournaments without prior experience. She began to take part in international tournaments, where she faced strong Soviet grandmasters. Along with Beth's fame, her addiction to drugs and alcohol grew. Having faced the Soviet grandmaster at the tournament and lost, Harmon realized that her success did not depend on tranquilizers. She decides to get rid of her addictions to meet with the legendary chess player again.
Apart from the USSR episodes, The Queen's Gambit is an incredibly beautifully filmed drama. The spirit of the 60-70s appears in every shot, in the interior, in heroines' costumes.
Although The Queen's Gambit is a series about chess and chess players, you will need enough basic chess knowledge to understand what is happening on the screen. After all, this series's main idea is the struggle of Beth Harmon with the world and with herself.
The Queen's Gambit is well-played series that definitely deserves to be in this month's TOP 10 series.
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Reviews
This series turns out be 2020's true winner. Truly an exemplary series showcasing one of the oldest and most intellectual games in our history and the show truly pays an homage to this breathtaking game.