Is anybody better at playing a dotty, preoccupied genius than Tobey Maguire? His brow’s worried furrows and unsettlingly inward-gazing eyes made him convincingly uncanny as the natural born writer in “Wonder Boys,” and he gave even Spider-Man a visionary gleam.
In “Pawn Sacrifice,” Maguire has a tougher nut to crack: Bobby Fischer, the chess champ who became a deranged recluse advocating “Death to America” and the deportation of all white Americans to Europe. Chess masters are often a bit out there: Fischer’s 1972 Iceland world championship rival Boris Spassky (played with magnetic savoir faire by Liev Schreiber) really did make officials X-ray his chair to prove Fischer wasn’t using it to beam radiation into his brain, and World Chess Federation president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov explained that chess was invented by aliens in yellow suits who took him for a day-long spin in their spaceship in 1997. That’s why Earthlings all have the same chessboard, you see.
Even by chess standards, Fischer was nuts. He believed Bill Clinton stole millions’ worth of Fischer’s memorabilia from a California storage room, all part of a global conspiracy of Jews (and “secret Jews” like Clinton) out to get him. “We’re Jewish!” protests his bewildered sister Joan (movingly played by Lily Rabe), clutching a dozen of Bobby’s anti-Semitic letters, desperate to get him out of the global media spotlight and onto a shrink’s couch. Shrink? This guy wouldn’t trust a dentist not to put transmitters in his molars.
Edward Zwick, a director who loves to mine history for stories that are logical to a fault, puts Fischer’s story in the context of that intercontinental chess match known as the Cold War. Hailed as a genius at 14, emancipated from his Marxist ex-Russian-resident mom (a cool-eyed Robin Wiegert) at 16, Fischer gets recruited to represent America by Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlbarg), the Rolling Stones’ proudly patriotic attorney who wants the kid to single-handedly humiliate the Soviet Empire.
“We lost China, we’re losing Vietnam, we have to win this one!” says Fischer’s mentor. Kissinger calls Fischer to urge him to get back in there and win one for the Free World. Ever since Marx (reportedly a sore loser), chess was an obsession with Communists, and Russians had a lock on the championships until Fischer interrupted their perpetual victory parade like a potty-mouthed alien from Brooklyn.
“Pawn Sacrifice” is intelligent, absorbing, never boring, and skillfully tense when it should be, but it’s not one of Zwick’s genius flicks. The drama is opaque and internal, unlike the Civil War backdrop of “Glory.” When a scrum of annoying reporters demands that Fischer explain how he managed to lose one game, he snaps, “Would any of you even understand?”
The movie doesn’t help us understand what went on in Fischer’s mind, or how each game is going. When somebody says Fischer’s victory is “unprecedented in the history of chess…no one seems to be able to decipher what he does,” the audience can relate.
We certainly can relate to the people involved, and the little, charged emotional moments Zwick has been sensitively dramatizing since “thirtysomething.” He’s good at bringing us into the heart of Fischer’s family and friends, but his hero’s heart remains unknowable, even when Maguire expertly makes us feel both its heat and its chill. Screenwriter Steven Knight is better when his director has a touch of philosophical madness — as when David Cronenberg directed his “Eastern Promises” screenplay — as opposed to Zwick’s thoughtfully realistic rationality. And it’s just plain hard for a camera to peer into the head of a chess master, whose lucubrations mean too much to fit onscreen, or a lunatic, whose thoughts are meaningless. Their worlds are as self-contained as a black hole.
Both HBO’s “Bobby Fischer Against the World” and Steven Zaillian’s “Searching for Bobby Fischer” made for terrific drama, so chess can’t be an impossible subject. Maybe Zwick and Knight are too sane, delicately creating a bread-crumb trail of motives for a mental illness that may not really have had psychological underpinnings. It’s not that Zwick made any fatal moves; even the film’s worst blunder — badly underexplaining Peter Sarsgaard‘s character, Fischer’s old chess buddy and trainer, now a priest reminiscent of William H. Macy in “The Sessions” — leaves the cleric a vivid presence. It’s just that you can’t figure out where he’s coming from or what he’s doing there.
I know that when I re-watch “Pawn Sacrifice,” it won’t be for the foregone conclusions of Fischer’s ascent and death spiral, but instead to see the acting championship bout between Tobey Maguire and Liev Schreiber. They’re masters playing masters playing.
18 Dramatic Championship Sports Movie Moments: From 'Rocky' to 'Remember the Titans' (Photos)
"The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
This beautifully dramatized moment of sports history, as wonderfully monologued by Gary Cooper, helped to immortalize the already infamous "Luckiest man" speech by Lou Gehrig.
“Rocky” (1976)
In the ultimate underdog story, newcomer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) gets a shot at the world heavyweight title against champ Apollo Creed. Rocky proves he has the goods, going the entire 15 rounds against Creed, but loses in a split decision. Rocky would get a rematch though and win the title in “Rocky II”.
"Breaking Away" (1979)
One of the most inspiring underdog stories ever made, the Little 500 bicycle race in Bloomington, Indiana, is a local classic as made famous by this film. In the film's closing race scene, the locals -- dressed in plain white T-shirts with their nickname the "Cutters" -- upset the richer college students with more expensive bikes and uniforms, riding across the finish line in pure glory.
“Chariots of Fire” (1981)
Two Englishmen push each other to be the best sprinter at the 1924 Olympics. While they won gold on the big screen’s racetrack, “Chariots of Fire” would go on to win Oscar gold for best picture.
“The Natural” (1984)
Robert Redford plays middle-age rookie Roy Hobbs in “The Natural.” Hobbs leads his team to a championship on his final at-bat when he launches the most famous home run in movie history. Thus proving the unspoken rule in baseball: If you break the lights you win the game.
“Hoosiers” (1986)
Another Indiana classic in what is widely considered one of the greatest sports movies of all time, “Hoosiers” follows a small town high school basketball team as they make it all the way to the state finals. They play a bigger and more athletic team in the finals, but with a last second shot pull off the surprise victory.
“Major League” (1989)
Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger lead an outfit of misfit Cleveland Indians from last place to a shot at the league pennant against the powerhouse Yankees. Even though the film is a comedy, the final game plays out in dramatic fashion.
“A League of Their Own” (1992)
“A League of Their Own” proved that girls can play baseball, and ends in a play at the plate that determines the championship. Geena Davis’ Rockford Peaches may lose that final game, but as Tom Hanks taught us, “there is no crying in baseball!”
Steve James’ revolutionary documentary follows inner-city Chicago kids William Gates and Arthur Agee throughout their high-school basketball careers. The film culminates in both striving to reach the finals of their city wide championship tournament.
“Remember the Titans” (2001)
Based on the true story of Virginia’s first integrated high school football team (led by coach Denzel Washington), the Titans not only change the views of an entire town, but they go undefeated on their way to a thrilling state championship against an all-white team.
“Friday Night Lights” (2004)
The film that spawned the critically acclaimed TV series (which in turn may spawn a film of its own) is memorable in that its featured team doesn’t win the championship. The Permian Panthers mount a great comeback, but come up one yard short of the state title.
“Miracle” (2004)
In perhaps one of the greatest upsets in sports history, a team of U.S. college hockey players defeated the Soviet Union, the three-time defending gold medal winner and best team in the world, during the Cold War.
"DodgeBall" (2004)
Okay, okay. This is really a parody of sports movies. But for all its send-ups of underdog sports movie formulas, it also embraces them full-heartedly during the gripping championship showdown between the Average Joes and Globo Gym.
“The Fighter” (2010) David O. Russell‘s Oscar-winning picture depicted boxer Mickey Ward’s (Mark Wahlberg) climb up the ranks from middling contender to a shot at the title. The final fight shows the grit and heart that it took for Ward to win the belt.
"Senna" (2010)
The best sports documentaries are as riveting as their scripted counterparts, putting viewers right in the action as if they are watching it unfold live. "Senna" is one of the finest examples, using primarily archival footage with no narration and few interviews to show the bitter Formula 1 rivalry between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost that led to the 1989 and 1990 championships being decided in controversial fashion at Japan's famed Suzuka Circuit.
"Survive and Advance" (2013)
ESPN's "30 for 30" series included a look at arguably the most famous championship run in college basketball history. In 1983, Jimmy Valvano led the North Carolina State Wolfpack on a streak of nine consecutive overtime or one-point wins, culminating in a last-second basket to win the championship over top-ranked Houston. In this documentary, even though the outcome is known, every game's heart-stopping drama is recreated perfectly.
"Creed" (2015)
The power and hypnotic beauty of this famous running scene from "Creed" as directed by Ryan Coogler is immense. Michael B. Jordan captures the inspiring training run from the original "Rocky" with a modern spirit. You can feel the emotion of the moment so strongly and can't help but root for him.
"Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies" (2017)
Another ESPN documentary that puts you right in the moment. Narrated by Lakers fan Ice Cube and Celtics fan Donnie Wahlberg, this five-hour doc covers the most famous championship rivalry in sports, which peaked with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the 80s. The tension hits its peak with Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals, in which Bird infamously missed a game-tying three-point shot.
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Whether it’s the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat, TheWrap recaps the biggest moments in these sports classics
“We lost China, we’re losing Vietnam, we have to win this one!” says Fischer’s mentor. Kissinger calls Fischer to urge him to get back in there and win one for the Free World. Ever since Marx (reportedly a sore loser), chess was an obsession with Communists, and Russians had a lock on the championships until Fischer interrupted their perpetual victory parade like a potty-mouthed alien from Brooklyn.
