The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chess pieces used effectively in heartwarming ‘Queen of Katwe’
Based on a true story, tale of potential prodigy can be a little clunky
In directing “Queen of Katwe” — a heartwarming tale based on the true story of a poor Ugandan girl who learns and excels at chess — Mira Nair does not quite rise to the filmmaking equivalency of a chess master.
She does, however, use her pieces to attack, often in combination. Those pieces are the characters in this tale as embodied by their talented actors.
Newcomer Madina Nalwanga’s Phiona Mutesi is, despite the movie’s title, its king. Phiona is the most important piece — if she falls, all is lost — but she can move only in small increments and often feels trapped by her circumstances, namely poverty.
Its queen is David Oyelowo’s Robert Katende, who moves around the board — often traveling great distances — defending Phiona and advancing her cause. The highly talented Oyelowo drives this movie with an extremely engaging performance.
(Sorry for non-traditional gender assignments here, but it’s 2016. You can handle it.)
The likewise talented Lupita Nyong’o is Harriet, Phiona’s mother and, continuing this metaphor, a rook. Strong and proud, she is a powerful piece who also can travel great distances, but only in a straight line. Ask her suddenly to move diagonally — as Phiona and Katende do — and you’re asking for trouble.
Supporting characters, mainly other chess-playing children, are used effectively by Nair as pawns, bishops and knights, executing simple or more complex moves as necessary.
“Queen of Katwe” isn’t always dominant, but it is a winner.
It begins with a 9-yearold Phiona selling vegetables to help feed her family. Harriet cannot afford to send Phiona or her other children to school, and their collective future looks quite bleak.
But then she comes into contact with Katende — who has training to be a highly paid engineer but is trying to support his small family working for an organization that provides youth outreach through sports — who starts teaching the children of Katwe chess. Phiona becomes interested in what she sees through the doorway of the church, and she doesn’t back down when another child gives her a hard time.
“A fighter!” Katende says to her from inside. “Come! This is a place for fighters!”
The complex game holds much allure to her, and a couple of children help teach her the moves, as well as that a pawn that makes it to the other end of the board can be promoted to a queen.
“In chess, the small one can become the big one,” Phiona is told, and her face lights up at the idea.
Katende quickly discovers she has quite a gift for the game. Some of the other children aren’t half bad, either, so he works hard to get them admittance to a tournament held at a fancy school miles away.
She does well, of course, and this will be but the beginning for Phiona. However, Harriet worries chess will give her daughter unrealistic dreams, dreams that involve leaving the slums of Katwe thanks to potential financial rewards for thriving at the game. Thus, despite Katende having nothing but the best intentions for Phiona, Harriet makes it clear he will be the one to blame if things get worse, not better, for her family.
He remains determined to fight on Phiona’s behalf, even as she has surpassed him in the game and he wishes he could provide a better teacher for her. He still has life lessons to impart through chess
“Do not be quick to tip your king, Phiona,” he implores her at one rough moment. “You must not surrender!”
“Queen of Katwe” is penned by William Wheeler (Showtime’s “Ray Donovan”), based on an article by Tim Crothers in ESPN Magazine. (The Disney film is made in association with Disney subdivision ESPN Films, by the way.)
In the hands of the generally skilled Nair (“Monsoon Wedding,” “The Namesake”), Wheeler’s narrative is a little clunky and lacks focus. And you know what? It doesn’t matter.
The important story elements are there — conflict, teamwork, overcoming challenges, etc. — and the performances are enjoyable across the (chess) board.
Nalwanga doesn’t show a ton of range, and yet her Phiona wins you over instantly. The determination of this girl, who will age a few years over the course of the film’s story, comes through, and her facial expressions say so much.
And while Nyong’o, an Oscar winner for her performance in 2013’s “12 Years a Slave,” does very nice work in “Queen of Katwe,” this movie largely belongs to Oyelowo.
The actor, who effectively portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 drama “Selma,” brings so much energy to the proceedings.
He is a fun force of nature, easily convincing you Katende could have a major impact on Phiona and the other youths. At the risk of sounding incredibly cliched, his is arguably the feel-good performance of the year.
Likewise, “Queen of Katwe” is full of feel-good, the kind that gets movie audiences clapping.
While Nair and Wheeler don’t quite capture the drama of children competing in chess the way 1993’s wonderful “Searching for Bobby Fischer” does — see that movie if you haven’t — it’s certainly a nice collection of moves.