Not really. Have you read IMDB's description? "A young woman moves to 17th century Amsterdam and hires a mysterious local miniaturist to furnish the dollhouse she received from her merchant husband as present, but the lifelike miniatures somehow start eerily foreshadowing her fate."
One of the finest series this year. Nice elements of fairytale, the styling and music of the '60s and loads of chess! A believable story and I think it's a nice portrait of the popularity of chess in that era. And the chess-matches are nicely filmed; they look exciting!
Plus if she took that many when she was trying to steal the big glass container as it shows she did, she would have died.
One episode left. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but I keep hoping a cat will come along and lick off Benny's moustache and chin whiskers. (Can't really call it a beard...)
Truly outstanding. Loved it. Head and shoulders above most of the stuff offered by Netflix. Let’s hope they keep the bar this high in the future.
I disagree here. There are many people with talents who believe that their use of substances is a necessary component of that talent. It is only those who quit who realize that the substances are not necessary. Substances can short-circuit the brain to reveal abilities that a person may not be aware they have otherwise. There are healthier ways to harness these abilities, which the season finale hints at. The drug use is integral to the character and plot.
I really enjoyed this, even if I couldn’t quite shake the suspicion it was just a beautifully shot and sensitively acted redux of the first 2 Rocky films. My wife, who managed to tolerate The Haunting Of Bly Manor, bailed after 2 episodes.
While I get that many chess prodigies, including Bobby Fischer, on whom the character of Beth was at least partly based, are odd ducks, and that Beth may well have believed that the pills helped her, pretty clearly no one who popped pills, drank, and sabotaged herself and her mind to the degree that she did in this series could have achieved the success she achieved. Just as Charlie Parker was a great musician despite his heroin addiction, not because of it, Beth’s pill habit didn’t make her great at chess. She was great at chess despite her pill habit, and the theory that the pills unlocked her ability makes for a pretty fairy tale, but a fairy tale all the same.
I don't think that the movie was suggesting that the tranquilizers and booze helped Beth. BETH thought they were necessary. Her perception was not reality. And she was so good that she could win despite the drugs/booze most of the time. But she played her most difficult match sober, and that was important.
In addition, the tranquilizers likely removed anxiety and "quieted" her mind, allowing her to focus. This was what allowed her to visualize the moves as a child. Given that it was formative, she did not know it was unnecessary or that she could find alternate methods to get into a flow state. There was only one instance in the show where she played hung over. The most self-destructive periods were during her off times. One does not lose superlative abilities just because they go on week-long benders. Not when they are that young, anyway.
OMG, I was SO confused, because I thought you were answering my question of what epic movie are the orphans watching in Queen's! I liked Australia, maybe watch it again, thanks for the reminder. Maybe time for Crocodile Dundee again as well.
Superb series, don't need any more, it works as a whole story. I was left wanting more but it was a satisfying ending, and you think back to a conversation mid-way in the series that is way too spoilery to get into. The only thing I would potentially have liked to see is if the character was able to reconnect with the characters seen in flashback, one in particular that was shown several times in profile and we don't know what happened to. I thought that was a mystery that would be resolved as the main character recalled more about the circumstances she was living in as a young child. I realise this may seem vague to anyone who has not seen the series!
Oops, sorry for confusion. I'm not sure (it was only on for a minute) but I think the movie the girls at the school were watching was The Robe.
Hope this eventually ends up on Blu-ray. Looking around, I see only dodgy "promotional" copies I suspect are bootlegs. Beautifully shot, but at times due to the vagaries of the web I end up with "only" DVD resolution.
Agree with the Emma Stone comparison - those eyes!!! Also really liked the usage of music in this series. Some uncommon choices. Interesting how they almost completely avoided the “news” of the 60s - no series does that! Early on you see mags w/JFK on the cover and I thought, here comes Nov 22. I even did a freeze frame on the envelope with $5 from the janitor and saw it was Oct 63 and thought it was imminent. But not even mentioned. A refreshing storytelling choice.
Watched it all from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. I'm stunned and now watching it all again! Spoiler alert: I was whooping with joy when Jolene showed up at the end of episode six...
