Taglines: His love dictates every move.
The Luzhin Defence tells the story of a shambling, unworldly chess Grand Master who arrives in the Italian Lakes to play the match of his life and unexpectedly finds the love of his life. Discovering his prodigious talent in boyhood overshadowed by his parents’ failing marriage, Luzhin’s lyrical passion for chess has become his refuge and rendered the real world a phantom. Already matched up by her family to the very suitable Comte de Stassard, when Natalia meets Luzhin, she is drawn to the erratic genius and offers him a glimpse outside of his chess obsession. But it is a world he is not equipped to deal with and his two worlds collide to tragic effect.
The Luzhin Defence is a 2000 film directed by Marleen Gorris, starring John Turturro and Emily Watson. The screenplay was based on the novel The Defense (or The Luzhin Defence) by Vladimir Nabokov. Emily Watson received best actress nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and the London Film Critics Circle Awards.
About the Story
It’s the early 1920s and Aleksandr Ivanovich ‘Sascha’ Luzhin (Turturro), a gifted but tormented chess player, arrives in a Northern Italian city to compete in an international chess competition. Prior to the tournament he meets Natalia Katkov (Watson) and he falls in love with her almost immediately. She in turn finds his manner to be appealing and they begin to see each other in spite of her mother’s disapproval.
Competing alongside Luzhin in the championship is Dottore Salvatore Turati (Fabio Sartor), who is approached by Leo Valentinov (Stuart Wilson), a Russian, who is Luzhin’s former chess tutor from pre-revolutionary Russia. Valentinov tells the Italian that Luzhin cannot handle pressure and he intimates he will make sure that his former prodigy will be unsettled off-table giving Turati a winning chance.
The competition starts badly for Luzhin who is unsettled by the presence of his former friend and coach. He struggles through the early rounds but he soon begins to win again as his relationship with Katkov becomes closer and intimate. She then informs her parents that she is going to marry him. Meanwhile, Luzhin goes on to reach the final and face Turati.
The Luzhin Defence (2001)
Directed by: Marleen Gorris
Starring: John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, Christopher Thompson. Kelly Hunter, Fabio Sartor, Peter Blythe, Orla Brady, Mark Tandy
Screenplay by: Peter Berry
Production Design by: Tony Burrough
Cinematography by: Bernard Lutic
Film Editing by: Michiel Reichwein
Costume Design by: Jany Temime
Art Direction by: John Hill
Music by: Alexandre Desplat
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sensuality and thematic elements.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: April 27, 2001
Views: 60
