Are you looking for something new and noteworthy to binge watch over the holiday break? The Noteworthy Mommy highly recommends The Queens’s Gambit on Netflix!
This limited series on Netflix is simply captivating! Anya Taylor-Joy plays the main character, Beth Harmon. Her acting is extraordinary, making her the up and coming star to watch. The story is fresh and filled with twists! The relationships are complex and the writers, although all male, capture the female perspective. Like a good book, I found myself thinking about the story weeks later. There are so many layers to uncover.
Attention to Detail– The writer and director get so much right in this series, right down to the minute details. For example, Beth is from Lexington, KY and although the series was filmed in Ontario and Berlin, the slight hint of Lexington elements were not overlooked. At one point the camera pans to a school bus with Fayette County Schools written on the side. Having trained teachers in Lexington a few summers ago, I knew this was accurate. And Beth plays her first chess tournament at Henry Clay High School. My husband’s family is from Kentucky and his uncle was principal at Henry Clay High School, the oldest school in Lexington, KY. Beth’s adoptive mother takes her clothes shopping at Ben Snyder’s Department Store. Ben Snyder’s was a real store founded in 1913 and operated in the very Lexington, Kentucky location the show is set in from 1935-1980. The historical elements are accurate and through vintage sets, costumes and outstanding cinematography, the viewer is transported back to the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Chess– You don’t have to know anything about chess to enjoy this series. Although I am a novice, who has never played, the series peaked my interest in the game! I have read that they used real chess moves in the series and that the books and publications Beth reads are historically accurate.
There are only a handful of movies or shows that I deem worthy of watching a second time and The Queen’s Gambit notably falls into that category. Treat yourself by watching The Queen’s Gambit and you may find yourself adding a chess set to your Christmas wish list!
Noteworthy Mommy 