(6) THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (NETFLIX 2020)

“The one thing we know about Elizabeth Harmon is that she loves to win”.

Not many TV series get such acclaim or hype as this sleeper hit – based on the 1983 novel by Walter Tevis – particularly for a series revolving around chess, indeed one that made it engaging for a mainstream audience.

“The Queen’s Gambit manages to personalize the game and its players thanks to clever storytelling and, in Anya Taylor-Joy, a lead actor so magnetic that when she stares down the camera lens, her flinty glare threatens to cut right through it.”

Although its engaging quality was in the drama of its leading character, Elizabeth or Beth Harmon, the chess prodigy rising from the tragic circumstances of being an orphan (from her mother’s su!cide), while struggling to overcome her emotional problems and literal addictions. It was something of a breakout role for Anya Taylor-Joy playing the lead – sure, she’d made a name for herself in roles in The Witch and Split, but this role really saw her showing her dramatic chops and getting the critical acclaim to match (which has seen her becoming nearly ubiquitous in films since).

RATING: 4 STARS****

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