The Queen's Gambit is one of the best mini-series the world could ever see. It is tragic, crisp, concise, and tremendously witty. Episode one to seven is a complete rollercoaster of emotions transitioning from joy to desolation to triumph. It is the perfect package of drama without any cliches.
I. Story & Screenplay
Adopted from the 1983 novel by the same name, the showrunners have maintained the utmost integrity in terms of changing the material. The whole crux of the storyline was so perfect that the showrunners took the right decision to keep almost 90% of the material in the actual show. People usually say adapted content is easier to make but the way it was written by "Scott Frank" made it seem more fluid yet hard-hitting. Certain aspects of the story were predictable but Scott Frank, being well aware of this, dramatized those parts to woe the attention of viewers away from those particular parts. The dramatic writing and build-up to such scenes are so good that one can only point out the cliched moments of the show after a second viewing. After doing "Brokeback Mountain", the legendary actor "Heath Ledger" wanted to make a movie on this very book but the top management producers thought it would be quite boring. Well... the joke is on them because after the show premiered on Netflix, 6.2 million (10% of the viewership) got seriously hooked on actually playing chess.
II. Direction & Editing
Scott Frank has not had any major breakouts yet but after years of struggle, he finally got his big break. Maybe he is a genius writer or maybe The Queen's Gambit was his passion project. Nonetheless, it was clearly visible that he had put his soul in it. The camera movements were very modern and flexible in contrast to the classic tone, colors, and setting of the show. The biggest barrier would be cutting down hours of chess footage into just mere minutes to convey the plot and not bore the audience but the editing team pulled out an absolute gem while working on the raw chess footage. Each one of the chess sequences in the show had a different vibe and tone to it and attached to that vibe & tone were whacky yet creative edits. If this seems a bit complicated, the clip down below will illustrate my point more precisely.
The music, the intensity, the close-up shots of the chessboard as well as Beth & Benny's name going up the charts were THE PERFECT buildup to their final showdown.
III. CAST
The final point I would put forward is possibly the best aspect of the show which is the cast. Filled with experienced actors, the show is decorated by the likes of Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley - Harry Potter), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Newt - Maze Runner), and the renowned Polish actor Marcin Dorocinski. This already seems like an amazing cast yet it is incomplete without Anya-Taylor Joy. In a world, where female-centric performances are never appreciated, Anya-Taylor Joy went on to prove how women can conquer anything as much as men can both inside and outside the show. Her acting was mindblowing and quite frankly one of the best performances I have seen in a while. Her expressions were on fleek and so was her delivery of dialogue but the subtleness in her acting makes it ten times beautiful. She had proven herself as a "serious" actor in her previous movies like "split" & "The witch" but this Emmy-worthy performance has left me baffled. She made the character what it is and no one else could have possibly done a better job.
I usually refrain from being biased but I am 110% confident every person who starts watching the series will not be able to stop before the final episode. The story, the editing, and the individual performances, especially by Anya-Taylor Joy has not only solidified her as an amazing actor but someone who is bound to stay in Hollywood!