Pawn Sacrifice

Greetings again from the darkness. Being such a fan of the expert documentary film BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD (2011), I found it a bit challenging to clear my head and accept a dramatized approach to the story. This was after all, one of the most fascinating reluctant public figure during one of the most energizing signature events of the Cold War between Russia and the United States … it was even described as World War III on a chess board. Director Edward Zwick (Glory, Blood Diamond) and writer Steven Knight (Locke, "Peaky Blinders") wisely focus the story on the infamous World Chess Championship match in 1972 between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky. This was 8 years prior to the "Miracle on Ice" when the USA Olympic hockey team upset the powerhouse Russian hockey team, but this chess match caused every bit as much media frenzy and national pride as that day in Lake Placid. This international attention is as important to the story as the psychological state of Bobby Fischer and his genius-level chess skill. And it's the media and citizenry reactions that provide the contemporary comparison to what we see too often these days thanks to social media … icons are born, chewed up, and forgotten. Tobey Maguire plays Fischer, and despite lacking the height and physical presence of the real chess champion, he expertly conveys the paranoia, fear, and arrogance that burdened the man and created even more suspense for those of us keeping a watchful eye at the time. Liev Schreiber ("Ray Donovan") plays Boris Spassky, and even speaks his lines in Russian. Schreiber captures the iciness for which the Russians were known, but also interjects subtle personality and insight in a story where his adversary is constantly over-the-top. Chess strategy isn't so much the story here, as are these two men from different worlds forced together on a stage in Iceland – with the full attention of the world. Supporting work is varied, but exceptionally strong. Robin Weigert plays Bobby's mother, and we get glimpses of why he later suffered from Mommy issues – in no small part to her intimate gatherings of Communist friends. Lily Rabe is touching as Bobby's sister and possibly the only person who ever had his best interest at heart. However, the real intrigue comes in the form of Peter Sarsgaard as Father Bill Lombardy, and Michael Stuhlbarg as Paul Marshall. Lombardy was Fischer's coach and confidant, and seemed to be the only one who grasped the severity of Bobby's mental state. Marshall, a well known attorney in the Music industry, is a shady fellow who seems connected to the government, and is really the driving force behind getting Fischer to play Spassky. More background and the motivation for these two gentlemen would have been welcome and filled a gap. The story of the tortured genius always makes entertaining fodder – think Van Gogh, Mozart, and John Nash. Bobby Fischer certainly fits that description, but his story is frustrating because we just don't understand the mental issues that caused him to evolve from teenage chess prodigy to World Champion to literal anti-social outcast spewing hateful words (watch the end credit film clips). This film is a worthy primer for the man and the times, and a reminder that we are always searching for the next hero … the next person to hoist up on the pedestal, only to be replaced soon after with another, and then another. Perhaps the film says as much as about us as a people, as it does about Bobby Fischer as a person.

Your humble reviewer was not present at the script meetings, but you cannot help but conclude that writer Steven Knight set out to do the near-impossible -- with a minimalist presentation, no CGI or special effects, not even slo-mo, make a chess movie that packed as much punch for the viewer as Ali-Foreman, or any other sports event you might name. This wonderful film is like the bumblebee. On paper it should not fly. In real life, it soars. This film works and works atreat. Maybe not the greatest biopic ever but darn close. It helps that the topic is a man who even those of us who "remember the era" barely knew or understood. Maguire gives the performance of his life. If you use a stopwatch you will be astonished at how much of his performance is merely facial expressions in close up. And it works. The rest of the cast is solid as a rock. Schreiber leaves Ray Donovan so far behind you would think this is a different actor. Sarsgaard, one of the most empathetic actors in the game, is the glue that keeps the film together. Mesmerizing from beginning to end. Exceeds expectations. And here is a tip. According to media legend, after the Spassky match, Fischer did a 7 minute comedy bit on Bob Hope where he not only showed perfect timing but more importantly showed none of the eccentricities on which this script was based. Watching this clip just after seeing this film (from one of the many "tube" sites - Google it) is an unexpected bonus for being a child of the digital age.

There are Three Things at Play in this Film. 1. Genius-Mental Illness Link 2. The Cold War 3. World Championship Chess The Movie, Unfortunately, does not Enlighten or Inform on Any of These Things. It just Shows them on the Screen. It's Superficial and Exploitative using the aforementioned as nothing more than Filling Space like a Cable News Channel with Talking Heads and Fancy Pictorials, that are Entertaining to a Point but Pointless in the Big Picture. Pick 1 of those 3, Any 1, and Do Something with it, Anything. Tobey Maguire as Bobby Fischer and Liev Schreiber as Boris Spassky go through the "Talking Points" of the Script with Professionalism and bring Their Acting Chops to the Proceedings and Proceed to Project Clichés and Go through Meaningless Moves, as does the Writer and Director. But the Underlying Motivations behind the Three Parts of the Story are Virtually Absent. All of this is Nothing more than a Pedestrian Picture with very Little Interest and very little Heart other than Regurgitating Headlines and Culling Pop Chart Timelines. A Major Disappointment, Uninspired, and Mundane Movie Making reduced to Claptrap.

I think I have seen a few movies about chess and like in all movies concerning competitive sports I know that it could be very interesting and inspiring. So don't assume that this is a boring movie because of its theme. This is based on the real life of chess legend Bobby Fischer who after he became world champion, he lived a secluded, solitary life possibly because of a mental illness which made him paranoid. I am not a fan of Tobey Maguire (poor choice for Spiderman IMO) but he gives a convincing performance in this. His tantrums and his stares as he is building irrational thoughts about conspiracies and imaginable dangers are s strong plus to the film. The pace of the film is also good and the music by the veteran James Newton Howard follows the emotions with grace. Overall: Recommended

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source: Pawn Sacrifice

There are Three Things at Play in this Film. 1. Genius-Mental Illness Link 2. The Cold War 3. World Championship Chess The Movie, Unfortunately, does not Enlighten or Inform on Any of These Things. It just Shows them on the Screen. It's Superficial and Exploitative using the aforementioned as nothing more than Filling Space like a Cable News Channel with Talking Heads and Fancy Pictorials, that are Entertaining to a Point but Pointless in the Big Picture. Pick 1 of those 3, Any 1, and Do Something with it, Anything. Tobey Maguire as Bobby Fischer and Liev Schreiber as Boris Spassky go through the "Talking Points" of the Script with Professionalism and bring Their Acting Chops to the Proceedings and Proceed to Project Clichés and Go through Meaningless Moves, as does the Writer and Director. But the Underlying Motivations behind the Three Parts of the Story are Virtually Absent. All of this is Nothing more than a Pedestrian Picture with very Little Interest and very little Heart other than Regurgitating Headlines and Culling Pop Chart Timelines. A Major Disappointment, Uninspired, and Mundane Movie Making reduced to Claptrap.

PAWN SACRIFICE, Biography of a Mad American Chess Prodigy Viewed at the Jameson Cinefest in Miskokc, September 2015, By Herbert Rodin Pevner-Deleon "Pawn Sacrifice" the masterful biopic of the bumpy life of highly controversial American chess prodigy Bobby Fisher did not cash in on any prizes at the Miskolc festival, but to me it was easily the highlight of the festival week. Okay, I came of age intellectually during the Bobby Fisher years, always admired his rebellious spirit and sheer brilliance, played a little chess myself. and can therefore relate to this picture from a personal perspective, but aside from that, this is a meticulously constructed docu-drama with an uncanny Oscar worthy performance by Toby McGuire as Fischer, most skillfully steered through the historical Cold War setting by veteran Hollywood director, Edward Zwick. Above all Mcguire, who is rather short of stature and does not physically resemble the tall handsome Fischer in the least, nevertheless nails Fischer's complex fuming, unpredictable, mercurial character and personality so thoroughly that physical resemblance becomes a moot point as the story progresses. The film traces Fischer's life from a troubled childhood in Brooklyn (with outstanding juvenile roles) up through national celebrity as a young chess wizard, international political celebrity when he confronts Russian Chess grandmaster Boris Spassky at the height of the Cold War in Reykjavik in 1972, and finally, his decline into paranoid obscurity in his antisemitic anti-American later years. The electrically charged chessboard battle of the titans in Iceland -- billed at the time as "The Match of the Century" and symbolically as a major superpower Cold War confrontation, is the centerpiece of the current film -- amazing that a series of chess games can be so action packed and full of suspense on screen -- kudos to Director Zwick. The title of the film refers to a well known chess move in which one of the eight pawns is sacrificed to gain a temporary strategic advantage. In this case it is clearly meant to resonate with Bobby's own sacrifice on the alter of American "justice" when he defied a State Department ban on travel to Jugoslavia in 1992 to engage in a nostalgic rematch with Spassky. Fischer won the rematch in Belgrade but had his passport revoked and subsequently became a refugee from American Law for the rest of his life -- bouncing around incognito from country to country behind a full beard he had grown as a disguise. For a time he took up refuge in Chigasaki, Japan, under the tutelage and protection of Go expert Waclaw Lukasiewicz, but was arrested by the Japs and threatened with deportation, until Iceland finally offered him asylum and full citizenship. By now, totally freaked out (never emotionally stable in the best of times) and Convinced that not only the CIA, but the Russian MVD and the international Jewish Conspiracy as well, were all out to get him, he constantly made vicious anti-American and vitriolic anti- semitic statements -- the latter in despite of (or because of) his own Jewish background. Fischer died alone in Reykjavik in 2008 at the age of 64 a raving maniac in a full white beard -- in the very city where he had reached the pinnacle of his fame 36 years before. In a detailed assessment of the film long term Fischer friend and associate Sam Sloan has pointed out a number of minor historical inconsistencies (exact names and dates and slightly variant chess moves) but was very moved by Mcguire's tremendous portrayal of Bobby the man and the overall quality of the picture, both as entertainment and a powerful document of a most intriguing and important American life, now all but forgotten.