It may seem hard to imagine now, but not so long ago a chess match drew the interest of the world and was televised to millions around the world. Pawn Sacrifice tells this story through the eyes of Bobby Fischer, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. The movie could be a little less sterile in its storytelling, but still manages to present a game well worth watching.
The plot follows its lead as a young chess prodigy who becomes United States Champion during the 60s. It eventually moves to the main thrust of the story, as Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) attempts to earn a world title and take the crown from Russian Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) in the early 70s. Of course, with the Cold War as a backdrop, all sorts of outside parties become interested in the event. This includes Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlbarg), a lawyer who becomes something of an agent for the player, as well as Father Lombardy (Peter Sarsgaard), a priest who attempts to focus and calm the unstable and frequently agitated Fischer.
While Fischer states that it’s only the game that he’s interested in, there are some allusions to deeper motives. His paranoia and declining mental state lead to barking threats and inventing conspiracy theories. As mentioned in the film, this is a game with billions of options for the player, and director Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall) gets the most out of capturing the minute sounds and movements (with close-ups and quick cuts) that cause its mentally taxed players distractions. It results in most of the film’s strongest moments.
There is some interesting insight into the protagonist’s head early on (depicted in his relationship with his mother and admonishment of her), but the story is primarily focused on the Fischer/Spassky challenge itself. The protagonist is so bizarre and at times cruel, yet the film still desperately wants to be an underdog story and deliver as positive a message as it can. So the format is a fairly standard biography that ends with a big finish and only a few title cards to explain the fate of its subject. As a result, the ending feels a bit forced and awkward. It might have been a little more interesting to really delve into the chess player’s later years, but the film ultimately doesn’t want to get that dark.
And while it does use a few creative ways to depict background action, it’s otherwise shot in a conservative manner. For this brief moment in history, these chess players were known worldwide with the media following them like Hollywood celebrities – it would have been exciting to see the events lensed in a more visually dynamic way to capture the feeling of being thrust into the limelight. It’s a minor point, though.
All of the cast are excellent – Maguire is convincing as Fischer and Skarsgaard is particularly likable as the clergyman/voice of reason, who expresses great concern for Fischer’s personal state. There’s enough going on to keep things interesting and entertaining, even if it doesn’t get as far inside Fischer’s head as it could.
Pawn Sacrifice is a very well-acted and finely crafted biopic that at least presents the brilliant but troubled man’s idiosyncrasies in a balanced light. For those unfamiliar with Bobby Fischer and his unique story, it should prove to be an interesting look inside one of the more unusual events in history – when a chess game seemed just as, if not more important than The World Series.