Simply Perfect

Brilliant and touching

Best movie ever!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

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.

Alexandr "Sascha" Luzhin (John Turturro) is a former leading chess player attempting a comeback at an Italy-hosted tournament. His brilliance is unquestioned but his obsession with chess has stunted his growth in all other aspects of his life. Natalia (Emily Watson) is a beautiful heiress who has come to the same resort with her mother, Vera (Geraldine James) to scope out possible marriage partners. Vera leans toward a handsome count but, astonishingly, Natalia is more fascinated by Sascha, whom she met on a walk. Sascha, too, is taken with Natalia and proposes marriage at their second meeting. But, with the concentration that Sascha must give to the chess matches and, with other happenings in his past still causing problems, will he win the heart of Natalia? Oh, and can he become the chess champion, also? This is a lovely film, based on a novel by Nabokov. The acting is amazing, with Watson very fine as the beautiful little rich girl and Turturro utter perfection as the shy, awkward chess enthusiast. James gives quite a nice turn as the overbearing mother and the other cast members are wonderful as well. As for the look of the film, it could not be better. The scenery is of the put-your-eye-out variety, the vintage costumes are gorgeous and the cinematography is deserving of much applause. Yes, the story is unusual and told with the use of flashbacks, at times, making it a film not everyone will appreciate. Then, too, the ending is bittersweet. However, if you love romance, period pieces, great acting, knockout scenery, or the fine art of motion picture creation, don't miss this one. You will be defenseless in resisting its multitude of charms.

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?

I fell asleep in the first half, that tells you a lot (about the film and my busy week at work). I woke up in the second-half, and to be fair so did the film.Turturro and Watson are fine exponents of the craft. Turturro especially has deserved top-billing for a long time. However, there's little chemistry between them, and this is a film about chess. The most un-cinematic sport there is.