Pawn Sacrifice, 2014.
Directed by Edward Zwick.
Starring Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard, Liev Schreiber, and Michael Stuhlbarg.
SYNOPSIS:
American chess phenomenon Bobby Fischer squares off against his Russian rival Boris Spassky in the 1972 “Match of the Century” in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Archival news footage talks about the disappearance of Bobby Fischer who is competing for the World Championship of Chess against his Russian adversary Boris Spassky in Iceland. A torn apart hotel room where everything from telephones and lamps have be disassembled appears with a figure staring out the window which then transitions to a young boy looking at person in car taking a picture of his home; he runs to his mother who plants the seeds of paranoia in him which will grow with age.
The child becomes a Brooklyn teenager who demands complete silence when he is studying resulting in his mother leaving with her boyfriend to California. With every win he achieves Bobby Fischer looks toward beating his greatest competition – the Russians. The ambition plays well with the American government and a manager who sees an opportunity to greatly weaken the Communist cause in a different arena of warfare – chess. As his genius grows Fischer becomes more unpredictable with his behaviour which threatens his ability to take the world crown from the Russians.
Cool ideas are utilized such as have graphics indicating the moves that young Bobby Fischer imagines on the chessboard and the use of framing some shots as surveillance photographs. The soundtrack music adds a playful note to the proceedings as well as slow-motion images of the Russian chess team which create a rock star effect. Close-up shots with heighten sound effects emphasize the hypersensitivity Fischer has when it comes to slightest of sounds.
Toby Maguire (Wonder Boys) who envisioned the role as the means toshowcase his acting versatility instead accomplishes the opposite; there is no lack of trying but he comes across as a petulant child rather than an eccentric genius. However, co-stars Peter Sarsgaard (Night Moves) and Liev Schrieber (Defiance) are enable to inhabit their parts as a chess savvy priest and Boris Spassky. The character portrayed by Sarsgaard has a keen understanding of what Bobby Fischer is going through and Schrieber has a laugh-inducing scene involving a chair. A missed opportunity is with the relationship between Fischer and his older sister Joan which gets marginal screen time. Pawn Sacrifice is not lacking in entertainment value but in the ability to comprehend the mind of the man who tragically spiralled out of control.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★★/ Movie: ★★★
Originally published September 8, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
