Exceptional Cognitive and Affective Factors in Netflix’s ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ By Joey Ting

Among the Netflix miniseries that we have today, Creators Scott Frank and Allan Scott’s ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (2020) assure the viewers of the triumphant cognitive and affective factors of the said latest released Netflix hit. From a 1983 novel by Walter Stone Tevis more popularly known as Walt Tevis, this novel of the same title has been made into a compelling cinematic visual form. Tevis’s other works as novelist include ‘The Hustler’, ‘The Color of Money’, ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ from which have become films in the past years. His work for ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ makes it the most exciting, engaging, and exceptional in both the cognitive and affective aspects of a human being.      

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is by far Netflix’s most engaging miniseries for the year 2020. It has seven episodes. Each episode is definitely cliff-hanged as the viewer gets into the proceeding one. The major plotline follows the story of the talented orphan Beth Harmon played by an exceptionally-stunning by Anya Taylor-Joy along with brief portrayals of Isla Johnston as the young Beth Harmon and Annabeth Kelly as the five-year old Beth. The character Beth, as a protagonist, hurdles her past and present to achieve a successful future in her career. The first plotline is Beth’s enigmatic past with several twist and turn flashbacks of her parents’ relationship, with her father having another set of family and her single mother’s dilemma in raising her without any support; The second plotline is Beth’s discovery of herself with innate interest on Chess through an incident in the Basement where her considered Chess mentor Mr. Shaibel (played by Bill Camp) works as a maintenance janitor in Methuen Home for Girls in Kentucky. The third plotline, as the most exciting but textured narrative, is Beth’s determined vision as a world class Chess player competing in Russia at a very young age. These three interconnected plotlines have fulfilled the nature of an effective miniseries told in the clearest and well-enunciated manner.

 

American Film director Scott Frank (widely acclaimed screenwriter for his Oscar nominated adapted-screenplay films ‘Out of Sight’ (1998) and ‘Logan’ (2017) provides careful directorial vision for the said miniseries. He takes the cinematic patterns gracefully episode per episode while establishing realities with psychological fantasies of Beth. Scottish screenwriter and stage musicales pseudonym Allan Scott (Allan Shiach) who adds to the thrill, succinctly-written lines, and heart-breaking sequences. Cinematic highlights of elements have played major distinctions to complete the cinematic experience. The music by Carlos Rafael Rivera, an American composer based on Guatamela, captures riveting and captivating episodes. Rivera makes use of rhythms of sentimentality, struggle, fantasy, and catastrophe, very evident in his leitmotif and music patterns from the scoring titles The Scholar’s Mate, Training with Mr. Shaibel, and Playing Townes among the few astounding uses of piano and violin instruments in the series. Production design has also become memorable most especially on the use of costume and hair styling patterns transcribed into a 1950s to 1960s periods. Finally, outstanding acting performances come from, of course, Ana Taylor-Joy whose believable portrayal of the character Beth Harmon has become a thing to follow in the awards race for 2020. Characters Jolene, a fellow orphan (played by Moses Ingram), Helen Deardorff (played by Christiane Seidel), Mrs. Alma Wheatly (played by Marielle Heller), and Harry Beltik (played by Harry Melling) have been noticeable in the series.

 

Because of the change in the new normal set-up due to the global pandemic, Netflix, on huge portable flat screen television sets at the comfort of homes, has become alternative film and film for television exhibits at present instead of attending cinema viewing in nearby theaters and cinema areas. This whole scenario has changed indefinitely the perspectives of the traditional attendance in cinema through an appreciation of our own versions of cinema from home. ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is a must-see drama genre on the cognitive aspects and the intellectually-driven Chess as a sport and as history unfolds its present limitations where mass gathering is prohibited while the affective domain is strongly delivered in the miniseries.