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[Fwd: Luzhin Defence "review"]
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Earl Sampson wrote:
> This message was originally submitted by esamson3@HOME.COM to the NABOKV-L list
>
> From: Earl Sampson <esampson@post.harvard.edu>
>
> Found this on the Arts News channel of my Excite home page
>
> > FILM REVIEW: 'Luzhin Defence' a tormentuous flick
> >
> >
> > By John Huetter
> > The Stanford Daily
> > Stanford U.
> >
> > (U-WIRE) STANFORD, Calif. -- When I went to see "The Luzhin Defence" as a homework
> > assignment, I encountered a classmate who mentioned he couldn't find anyone in his
> > frat who wanted to see a period piece love story about chess. Go figure. His frat
> > brothers were correct not to see the film, but for the wrong reasons. The romantic,
> > chess and stylistic elements are fine. It's the rest of the movie that's flawed.
> >
> > The film concerns the eccentric chessmaster Alexandre Luzhin (John Turturro), who
> > travels to Italy for the world championship. There, he meets and falls for bored
> > socialite Natalia Katkov (Emily Watson), proposing marriage to her before even
> > learning her name.
> >
> > But this romance and Luzhin's chess-playing are jeopardized by Luzhin's tormented
> > mental state and the scheming of his former mentor, Valentinov (Stuart Wilson), who
> > plots to psychologically torment Luzhin into losing the tournament.
> >
> > Stylistically, "The Luzhin Defence" is top-notch, reinforcing on multiple levels the idea
> > that chess dominates Luzhin's life and sanity. Smart art direction confines the actors
> > inside gigantic chessboard-like sets; the blocking turns the actors into chess pieces by
> > keeping them motionless in geometric formations until their cues. Even the film's
> > tempo mimics that of a chess game -- a leisurely development punctuated by periods of
> > intense action.
> >
> > Through these clever stylistic decisions and the fine acting of the two leads, "The
> > Luzhin Defence" succeeds. Turturro is perfectly quirky, quietly masticating scenery
> > and suffering nervous breakdowns. Watson shines too, despite her understated role.
> >
> > It is the script that sabotages the film. The narrative and characterization -- which
> > ought to be as tightly plotted as a chess match -- are disjointed and as loose as a game of
> > Pick Up Stix.
> >
> > Valentinov is such a cartoonish villain that one half expects him to be holding a pinky
> > to his lips. The film never explains his intense hatred of Luzhin or why he feels the
> > need to sabotage the game of a player he claims will lose anyway. The other characters
> > don't fare much better, ranging from stock roles to exposition providers.
> >
> > I will say that the film sucker-punches you. You marvel at the opulent production
> > values and brilliant stylistic decisions rendering the film into a gigantic chess game.
> > You watch Turturro and Watson's expert performances, and you force yourself to
> > believe you're watching a good movie, reasoning that you must be just too lowbrow and
> > uncultured for this art house film.
> >
> > And you would be wrong. Don't let 'em push you around. Think about the stock
> > characters, weak script and incoherent backstory. You may admire the film's brilliant
> > cinematic design and Turturro and Watson's excellent acting, but stop there, and
> > recognize that "The Luzhin Defence" is at heart an ornate, exquisite chessboard used to
> > play only the most basic and amateurish of games.
> >
> > (C) 2001 The Stanford Daily via U-WIRE
> >
> This message was originally submitted by esamson3@HOME.COM to the NABOKV-L list
>
> From: Earl Sampson <esampson@post.harvard.edu>
>
> Found this on the Arts News channel of my Excite home page
>
> > FILM REVIEW: 'Luzhin Defence' a tormentuous flick
> >
> >
> > By John Huetter
> > The Stanford Daily
> > Stanford U.
> >
> > (U-WIRE) STANFORD, Calif. -- When I went to see "The Luzhin Defence" as a homework
> > assignment, I encountered a classmate who mentioned he couldn't find anyone in his
> > frat who wanted to see a period piece love story about chess. Go figure. His frat
> > brothers were correct not to see the film, but for the wrong reasons. The romantic,
> > chess and stylistic elements are fine. It's the rest of the movie that's flawed.
> >
> > The film concerns the eccentric chessmaster Alexandre Luzhin (John Turturro), who
> > travels to Italy for the world championship. There, he meets and falls for bored
> > socialite Natalia Katkov (Emily Watson), proposing marriage to her before even
> > learning her name.
> >
> > But this romance and Luzhin's chess-playing are jeopardized by Luzhin's tormented
> > mental state and the scheming of his former mentor, Valentinov (Stuart Wilson), who
> > plots to psychologically torment Luzhin into losing the tournament.
> >
> > Stylistically, "The Luzhin Defence" is top-notch, reinforcing on multiple levels the idea
> > that chess dominates Luzhin's life and sanity. Smart art direction confines the actors
> > inside gigantic chessboard-like sets; the blocking turns the actors into chess pieces by
> > keeping them motionless in geometric formations until their cues. Even the film's
> > tempo mimics that of a chess game -- a leisurely development punctuated by periods of
> > intense action.
> >
> > Through these clever stylistic decisions and the fine acting of the two leads, "The
> > Luzhin Defence" succeeds. Turturro is perfectly quirky, quietly masticating scenery
> > and suffering nervous breakdowns. Watson shines too, despite her understated role.
> >
> > It is the script that sabotages the film. The narrative and characterization -- which
> > ought to be as tightly plotted as a chess match -- are disjointed and as loose as a game of
> > Pick Up Stix.
> >
> > Valentinov is such a cartoonish villain that one half expects him to be holding a pinky
> > to his lips. The film never explains his intense hatred of Luzhin or why he feels the
> > need to sabotage the game of a player he claims will lose anyway. The other characters
> > don't fare much better, ranging from stock roles to exposition providers.
> >
> > I will say that the film sucker-punches you. You marvel at the opulent production
> > values and brilliant stylistic decisions rendering the film into a gigantic chess game.
> > You watch Turturro and Watson's expert performances, and you force yourself to
> > believe you're watching a good movie, reasoning that you must be just too lowbrow and
> > uncultured for this art house film.
> >
> > And you would be wrong. Don't let 'em push you around. Think about the stock
> > characters, weak script and incoherent backstory. You may admire the film's brilliant
> > cinematic design and Turturro and Watson's excellent acting, but stop there, and
> > recognize that "The Luzhin Defence" is at heart an ornate, exquisite chessboard used to
> > play only the most basic and amateurish of games.
> >
> > (C) 2001 The Stanford Daily via U-WIRE
> >