Pretty Good

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a pretty mediocre treatment of Nabokov's book, a favorite of mine. It reminds me of "A Beautiful Mind" in the sense that it is more about the personal life of a genius than his doings, and it sometimes feels mundane for that reason.As Turati and Luzhin were portrayed, it recalls greatly Capablanca and Alekhine, respectively, and their encounters. Alekhine the unstable but brilliant, the only world champion to die with the title, and Capa the smooth talker in a trench coat, rock solid.For all the film's shortcomings, the puzzle of the adjourned position, which doesn't occur in the book, was a really nice composition.

A good movie based in a novel by Vladimir Nabokov (written in 1930) about Alexander Luzhin, a Russian chess genius and borderline psychotic who suffers a mental breakdown during the world championship in Italy (not having read the book, I cannot say whether the movie is faithful to it). During the tournament Luzhin knows and falls in love with the beautiful Natalia, a fellow émigré Russian, who despite the fierce opposition of her family returns his attention, eventually agreeing to marry him. The main suspension of disbelief in the movie comes from this. Of course, the beautiful girl chooses shy sensitive guy over tough, macho rival is a staple of romantic comedies. But Luzhin, as played by John Turturro, goes beyond the shy and sensitive and into the downright bizarre and borderline autistic. He appears unkempt, absent minded, with dirty clothes. My experience is that women never fall for men like that, they might pity them, they might become friendly with them but they would never feel any sexual attraction to them. Of course, the movie suggests that one of the reasons Natalia agrees to marry Luzhin is not so much because she feels sexually attracted to him (there is a scene where they kiss that is terribly awkward) but to upset her domineering insufferable mother. Also being a chess grandmaster in the path to become the world champion helps, even if your personality is totally off putting. The beautiful Italian settings help the movie a lot. The movie is also bolstered by the fine performance of pretty Emily Watson (she of blue moist seducing eyes, very believable as a Slavic beauty) as Natalia. On the other hand, whether John Turturro's characterization of Luzhin is good is debatable. I think he makes the character too broad.

This is part of the game or sport genre that has enjoyed commercial success over the years. Only a few eccentricities manage to differentiate this from its sibling films, yet you feel that this could have been a lot more. Especially since its an adaptation of Nabokov. But it is simple melodrama. Predictable and sentimental. It could have had edge, seeing that it is about an obsession that leads to self-destruction. But it plays it safe and unintelligent.One interesting snippet, towards the end, was when Luzhin reads a letter from Valentino attempting to manipulate him into finishing the event. Luzhin burns the letter but the voice-over continues to play. You can see that he is being consumed by his own obsession, just as the letter is being consumed by the flames. The symbolism of Luzhin's king and queen chess pieces is rather heavy handed. The opening image: the light at the end of the tunnel, was an obvious presentiment of Luzhin's death.

This movie is frustrating because the director can't decide what type of movie to make. Should it be a love story? This approach won't work because there is little development of the relationship between hero and heroine; the hero's character is so shallow that it's hard to imagine any lady falling in love with him. Should it be a period piece? The director doesn't take advantage of the natural beauty of the northern Italian lake district. One would have hoped that at least one of the hotels would be recognizable, or that through the mist one would see some Cyrillic characters on the presumably Russian railway carriages. And where does one find a rail station without people except the principal actors? Should the movie appeal to chess enthusiasts? There is insufficient detail to appeal to them. Perhaps the movie is intended to showcase Emily Watson's beauty? Or perhaps to tell the story of the hero's obsession with chess? Rating: 4 out of 10.