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Luzhin Defence, The
Columbia/Tri-Star // PG-13 // September 18, 2001
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
For Alexander Luzhin (John Turturro), chess is more than a game: it's his life, and has been ever since he discovered it at the age of ten as a refuge from a conflicted childhood. In The Luzhin Defence, based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, we meet Luzhin at the peak of his career as a chess master, ready to face off against a rival master to determine who will be the world champion. Then Luzhin meets Natalia (Emily Watson), a young woman who recognizes the fragile and sensitive spirit within the eccentric genius, and Luzhin discovers the previously unimaginable possibility of a life outside of chess.
Turturro certainly demonstrates his versatility as an actor in this role. I'd previously only seen him as Jesús in The Big Lebowski, and his role in The Luzhin Defence couldn't be more different. His portrayal of Luzhin as an eccentric, near-autistic genius is almost too good. I say "too good" because the character of Luzhin is so different from the ordinary that it's nearly impossible to identify with him and what he's feeling. The character of Natalia, and the viewer as well, is intrigued by him because he's an enigma; unfortunately, he remains enigmatic throughout the movie, making it difficult to understand his internal dilemma or feel engaged by his fate.
My impression of the film is that director Marleen Gorris was reaching to tell a more complex story than she was ready for. For instance, flashbacks are an important element in the movie, but they're handled awkwardly; it's often difficult to determine whether a particular scene is a flashback or is happening in present time. This is arguably an indication of Luzhin's own confusion, but I don't think that's how it was intended, since the movie overall doesn't stick with Luzhin's point of view, and while some of the flashbacks are related to what Luzhin is thinking or seeing in the present time, others are not. Similarly, the secondary characters, such as Luzhin's one-time mentor, his parents, and his aunt, are presented in a way that makes them difficult to keep track of who is whom.
I give Gorris high marks for originality and creativity in choosing a story to tell that's different and distinctive. This originality carries the movie a long way, making it interesting to watch, but ultimately it falls a little flat. At the end of the film, I was left wondering what the point was intended to be. As a character study, it doesn't really give enough of an insight into Luzhin or Natalia; as an exploration of the conflict between genius and normal life, it raises some issues but doesn't really address them in a satisfying way.
Picture
There's nothing exceptional about the image quality of The Luzhin Defence, either for good or for bad. It's presented in anamorphic widescreen at the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Colors seemed slightly "off" throughout. There's a moderate amount of noise in the image, and contrast is occasionally slightly unsatisfactory. None of these problems are enough to be really bothersome, but they add up to a picture quality that's only average.
Sound
Like the picture quality, the sound quality is average. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is satisfactorily clear for the most part, though without much use of surround. The main problem with the sound is that the music volume isn't balanced properly with the dialogue, so on several occasions the music level makes it difficult to hear the dialogue clearly.
Extras
The Luzhin Defence has one special feature of substance, which is the director's commentary. The "making-of" featurette is a joke: at a whole two and a half minutes long, it's a blatant example of padding the DVD's features list. The remaining features are trailers and filmographies, nothing exceptionally interesting.
Final thoughts
The Luzhin Defence is like a dish served without enough salt. It has high-quality ingredients in an interesting recipe, but it's missing that "something" to bring out the flavor. After I finished watching it, I felt that I wanted to like it more than I actually did. If you're in the mood for something different and a little odd, it might be worth a rental.
Turturro certainly demonstrates his versatility as an actor in this role. I'd previously only seen him as Jesús in The Big Lebowski, and his role in The Luzhin Defence couldn't be more different. His portrayal of Luzhin as an eccentric, near-autistic genius is almost too good. I say "too good" because the character of Luzhin is so different from the ordinary that it's nearly impossible to identify with him and what he's feeling. The character of Natalia, and the viewer as well, is intrigued by him because he's an enigma; unfortunately, he remains enigmatic throughout the movie, making it difficult to understand his internal dilemma or feel engaged by his fate.
My impression of the film is that director Marleen Gorris was reaching to tell a more complex story than she was ready for. For instance, flashbacks are an important element in the movie, but they're handled awkwardly; it's often difficult to determine whether a particular scene is a flashback or is happening in present time. This is arguably an indication of Luzhin's own confusion, but I don't think that's how it was intended, since the movie overall doesn't stick with Luzhin's point of view, and while some of the flashbacks are related to what Luzhin is thinking or seeing in the present time, others are not. Similarly, the secondary characters, such as Luzhin's one-time mentor, his parents, and his aunt, are presented in a way that makes them difficult to keep track of who is whom.
I give Gorris high marks for originality and creativity in choosing a story to tell that's different and distinctive. This originality carries the movie a long way, making it interesting to watch, but ultimately it falls a little flat. At the end of the film, I was left wondering what the point was intended to be. As a character study, it doesn't really give enough of an insight into Luzhin or Natalia; as an exploration of the conflict between genius and normal life, it raises some issues but doesn't really address them in a satisfying way.
Picture
There's nothing exceptional about the image quality of The Luzhin Defence, either for good or for bad. It's presented in anamorphic widescreen at the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Colors seemed slightly "off" throughout. There's a moderate amount of noise in the image, and contrast is occasionally slightly unsatisfactory. None of these problems are enough to be really bothersome, but they add up to a picture quality that's only average.
Sound
Like the picture quality, the sound quality is average. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is satisfactorily clear for the most part, though without much use of surround. The main problem with the sound is that the music volume isn't balanced properly with the dialogue, so on several occasions the music level makes it difficult to hear the dialogue clearly.
Extras
The Luzhin Defence has one special feature of substance, which is the director's commentary. The "making-of" featurette is a joke: at a whole two and a half minutes long, it's a blatant example of padding the DVD's features list. The remaining features are trailers and filmographies, nothing exceptionally interesting.
Final thoughts
The Luzhin Defence is like a dish served without enough salt. It has high-quality ingredients in an interesting recipe, but it's missing that "something" to bring out the flavor. After I finished watching it, I felt that I wanted to like it more than I actually did. If you're in the mood for something different and a little odd, it might be worth a rental.
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