Perhaps morally obliged to catch the movie Pawn Sacrifice, I did so yesterday with a rather cynical mindset because: first of all, no offence to my favourite Peter Parker, Bobby Fischer was a very tall man... and Tobey McGuire had never come across as too imposing or enigmatic (as you would know of Fischer) in the former's past lives on the silver screen. I obviously make this observation as a distant audience. Chill, please.
The short film did avoid for the most part, the height issue with careful cinematography. Drips and drops of personal background life events provided some shadings to his character and I could appreciate the slightly more three dimensional perspective of the genius that lived in that cold war period.
It was interesting to hear the anti-semetic lines faithfully reproduced in one of the scenes. Even in his last days, the former world champion had a lot to say about conspiracies and the likes. I also like how the famous 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace was reproduced. It was apparent that McGuire enjoyed his portraying.
One particular note on the role of Boris Spassky... I found Liev Schreiber's physical characterisation quite well done. It is probably because Boris Spassky's easy hair colour, style and his face.
Overall, the film did a fairly just coverage to the famous 1972 Icelandic tournament and the unusual fascination surrounding this american chess legend. I do however wish that the movie had offered even more narrative or depth, though the movie seemed determined to be factual and documentary-narrative in style, especially with its excerpts from real life interviews.
While it is unlikely to be a film that many will remember or return to watch again, I like to observe that Tobey McGuire had done a fair job. Recommended for anyone with the slightest interest in history or in chess, and in who was probably America's brightest sacrifice on the checkered land.
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