Oscar winner Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) and the luminous Sandrine Bonnaire (Vagabond) square off in this stylish and sophisticated dramedy of newfound passions and mid-life triumphs, set on the postcard-perfect isle of Corsica. Lovely, repressed and quietly intelligent, French chambermaid Hélène (Bonnaire) discovers she has a knack for chess. This obsession—much to the chagrin of her husband and teenaged daughter—leads her to seek the clandestine tutelage of a reclusive American doctor (Kline, in his first French-speaking role)—a liaison that radically transforms both of their lackluster lives. –Zeitgeist Films
The always excellent Sandrine Bonnaire saves this story of underdeveloped characters. More suited for those with a passion for chess. But..that gorgeous scenery..
A lovely and beguiling platonic romance about a maid who finds mental liberation from her mundane life through chess. A new twist on a familiar formula, replacing sexual liberation with freedom of the mind. Beautifully constructed and acted.
While the story and directing were just okay, Sandrine Bonnaire ultimately makes lemons out of lemonade and ends up acting the heck out of a role that would be portrayed in a very boring manner by most other actors.
Queen to Play is another in a long line of the it is never to late to be interesting films. This one is about the lore of chess.
Since I do not play chess, I can tell you I learned nothing about… read review