Show: The Queen's Gambit (on Netflix)
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Marielle Heller
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
This has been quite popular on Netflix these days and surprise... I actually watched it!
It's quite the fascinating character look at someone's crazy life... from being an orphan and having a very strange upbringing, to becoming a famous chess player.
The big question that I haven't quite got answered is... is this based on someone's real life? It sure seems like it is, but I'm not sure it really is.
It takes place in the 60s... when our girl ends up learning chess from the janitor at her orphanage. And it turns out she is quite the prodigy. She gets noticed by the locals and beats all the high school boys even when she is only like 11 years old or something.
She ends up getting adopted by a kind of crazy couple, and then she manages to find her way into tournaments... where she wins one after the other after the other... and thus she starts slowly making money.
But still, it's a quite a sad thing...because she is so very lonely. And she is looking for friends and yet, she is so strange herself that it's very hard for people to connect to her.
Like I said, it's all quite fascinating.
I really loved learning that the dude who made this has been trying for years (like 30 or something?) to get this made and people rejected him over and over.... until finally someone said okay. And now it's gone so crazy with everyone! I love that!
Another thing I loved about this one is the music... of course I found a playlist that includes all the songs. So good!
Anyway, if you haven't checked it out yet... go watch and let me know what you think!
Here's the trailer:
