THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT

Anya Taylor-Joy as chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit.

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The Queen's Gambit is a gorgeous, well-acted, coming-of-age story. It's also a story of the failure of family and finding family in the friends that one has. And, it's about chess.

It works so well, primarily because of the character of Elizabeth Harmon. Beth Harmon is a well-written and fully developed character, and one that we can relate to. Tween Beth Harmon is played by Isla Johnston and she is a powerful presence when she is on screen. She is only overshadowed by Anya Taylor-Joy's portrayal of young adult Beth Harmon. But they don't share the screen.

Honestly, Anya Taylor-Joy is a bold presence on screen in whatever movie she is cast. The Witch was the movie it was because of her role as Thomasin. For me, she anchored the films Split and Glass. The New Mutants wasn't a bad film, but it was definitely made better with her as Magik.

In The Queen's Gambit, she navigates with ease the roles of orphan, student, daughter, drug-addict, alcoholic, young woman discovering herself, chess player, prodigy, friend, lover, opponent. She fills the screen with a quiet and bold countenance during close-up shots in chess matches and with an exuberant physicality in scenes of dancing or intoxication.

And the costume designers and set designers make Taylor-Joy's habitation of Harmon even more believable with stunning outfits, haircuts, makeup, and stunning period mise-en-scene.

It's rare that a movie moves me to tears, but there were two scenes where my eyes welled up. They were both later scenes with father figures.

I highly recommend this series. I'll also be finding a copy of the novel by Walter Tevis upon which it is based.