Pawn Sacrifice: Movie Review

“Pawn Sacrifice” is the true story about American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) and his descent into madness during the height of the cold war. Directed by Edward Zwick (“The Last Samurai”, “Love & Other Drugs”), “Pawn Sacrifice” spends most of its’ time focused on Bobby’s mission to become the world chess champion.

At 6 years of age, Bobby Fischer, a Brooklyn whiz-kid, taught himself the game of chess . He was obsessed with the game. By the time Bobby was a teenager, he had become an international grandmaster. Bobby’s unpredictable behavior was mostly catered to by his manager Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlbarg) and his coach, Father Bill Lombardy (Peter Sarsgaard).

The further along Bobby got, the more his erratic behavior increased. Bobby would become increasingly paranoid and became obsessed with conspiracy theories. By the time Bobby had to face his ultimate opponent, Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber), Bobby had become almost completely unhinged. Bobby’s paranoia even began to rub off on Boris.

Tobey Maguire gives one of the best performances of his career, topping my previous favorite in 2009’s “Brothers”. Schreiber who to me is always good, seems to be at his best when he is playing a Russian (like in 2008’s “Defiance”). The whole cast is quite good. I knew who Bobby Fischer was but before seeing “Pawn Sacrifice” I really didn’t know his story. A great story with a great cast, this one is definitely worth checking out.

By: Marc Ferman