The good news is that the movie is beautifully filmed, the settings and period clothing are luscious, Emily Watson gave us a solid performance, as did Geraldine James as her screen mother. Sadly, that's about it. John Turturro gave us yet another wild eyed outing. It's beginning to look like that's all he can do. The villainous mentor is clichéd and we never learned the reason for his rancor. Indeed, the premise of the love story, that is the genius fool snagging the lovely poised heiress, is trite and implausible. The wedding day sequence also made no sense. Play chess on your way to the church? How could that ploy even be advanced? Although some reviewers found the ending to be a release, I thought it was another hackneyed device.
If you want to see a film about chess, I suggest "Searching for Bobby Fischer", for a love story about people in disparate circumstances try "Chasing Amy". If "The Luzhin Defence" is neither, then what is it?
If you want to see a film about chess, I suggest "Searching for Bobby Fischer", for a love story about people in disparate circumstances try "Chasing Amy". If "The Luzhin Defence" is neither, then what is it?