The Luzhin Defence

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id272.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sunshine"><U>Sunshine</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id227.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Supernova"><U>Supernova</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1094.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan Svankmaker Short Films 19641972"><U>Jan Svankmaker Short Films 1964-1972</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1095.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jan Svankmajer Short Films 19791992"><U>Jan Svankmajer Short Films 1979-1992</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id533.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Tao of Steve"><U>The Tao of Steve</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id279.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Titan A.E."><U>Titan A.E.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id267.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sweet November"><U>Sweet November</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id258.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Terrorist"><U>Terrorist</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id886.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Taboo"><U>Taboo</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id554.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Tic Code"><U>The Tic Code</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id869.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Legally Blonde"><U>Legally Blonde</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id618.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Red Planet"><U>Red Planet</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id608.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Remember The Titans"><U>Remember The Titans</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1245.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life as a House"><U>Life as a House</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id231.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reindeer Games"><U>Reindeer Games</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id225.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Restaurant"><U>Restaurant</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id168.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Return To Me"><U>Return To Me</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1144.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lost and Delirious"><U>Lost and Delirious</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id725.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Low Down"><U>The Low Down</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id226.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rules of Engagement"><U>Rules of Engagement</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id532.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Saving Grace"><U>Saving Grace</U></A>   |   <B>The Luzhin Defence</B>   |   <A HREF="id1103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nico and Dani"><U>Nico and Dani</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id174.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Scary Movie"><U>Scary Movie</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1045.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Set Me Free"><U>Set Me Free</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id885.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nowhere to Hide"><U>Nowhere to Hide</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id890.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="One Day in September"><U>One Day in September</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shaft"><U>Shaft</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id814.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pollock"><U>Pollock</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id115.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shanghai Noon"><U>Shanghai Noon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Price of Milk"><U>The Price of Milk</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Small Time Crooks"><U>Small Time Crooks</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id918.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Prime Gig"><U>The Prime Gig</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id700.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Solomon Gaenor"><U>Solomon & Gaenor</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1025.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Princess and the Warrior"><U>Princess and the Warrior</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id232.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Space Cowboys"><U>Space Cowboys</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id880.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ratcatcher"><U>Ratcatcher</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id923.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="See Spot Run"><U>See Spot Run</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id357.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sunset Boulevard"><U>Sunset Boulevard</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages For</B></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                    </B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                       </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> The Luzhin Defence</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="501" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2583 WIDTH="495"><div> <IMG SRC="c8682810.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="129" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005ABHS/reelmoviecriticc">Buy Soundtrack from Amazon.com</A>  </div> <div>  <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679727221/reelmoviecriticc">Buy the book from Amazon.com</A>  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="1317618c0.jpg" border=0 width="97" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><B>DVD <script language="JavaScript"> function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write("<a href=javascript:popUp('http://buybox.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=reelmoviecriticc&link_code=xsc&creative=23424&camp=2025&path=/dt/assoc/tg/aa/xml/assoc/-/B00005N91D/reelmoviecriticc/ref=ac_bb1_,_amazon')><img src=http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/remote-buy-box/buy1.gif border=0 alt='Buy from Amazon.com' ></a>"); document.close(); </script> <noscript> <form method="POST" action="http://buybox.amazon.com/o/dt/assoc/handle-buy-box=B00005N91D"> <input type="hidden" name="asin.B00005N91D" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="tag-value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="hidden" name="tag_value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="image" name="submit.add-to-cart" value="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/add-to-cart.gif"> </form> </noscript>  </B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>The Luzhin Defence </B>***1/2 (PG-13)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 24 WIDTH="545"><div> No answer is sometimes <I>the</I> answer</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Alex Luzhin: John Turturro</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Natalia: Emily Watson</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Alex's father: Mark Tandy</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Alex's mother: Kelly Hunter</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Young Alex: Alexander Hunting</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Aunt Anna: Orla Brady</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Valentinov: Stuart Wilson</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Natalia's mother: Geraldine James</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Turati: Fabio Sartor</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Jean de Stassard: Christopher Thompson</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Director: Marleen Gorris</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: Two lovers, one a chess master and the other a socialite, try to develop a life together even though many oppose their relationship. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Alex Luzhin (John Turturro) is at a seaside resort in Lake Como, Italy for a world chess championship, where he is expected to be in the finals with Turati (Fabio Sartor). As a young boy, Alex (Alexander Hunting) learned that he was skilled at chess, as he was able to out maneuver the grown men at the local chess club. When he was truant from school and his father learned he was playing chess he wanted to teach Alex a lesson, only to be taught one himself, due to Alex's gift.  </div> <bR> <div> Alex's life was strained because his father (Mark Tandy) was a strict disciplinarian at home, but a free spirit when away on outings with his sister-in-law, Anna (Orla Brady). Alex's mother (Kelly Hunter) did not like to do things like ride on roller coasters, as her sister Anna would do with Alex and his father. His mother became a bitter and jealous woman. After her death, Alex's father placed him in the care of a chess mentor, Valentinov (Stuart Wilson). Besides, this freed his father to have more time with Anna.</div> <bR> <div>  Later in life, when Alex is pushing 40 years old, he refers to his years with Valentinov as "the lost years."  Valentinov made a nice amount of money off of the winnings that Alex earned in chess clubs on the Continent, and his desire was to take him to the professional level. However, Alex did not thrive under intense formal competition and when Alex refused to go to America to help Valentinov make his fortune, they split up.</div> <bR> <div> Now, many years later, Valentinov reunites with Luzhin at the championships, pretending to be a friend. When Turati asks Valentinov "Do you want me to win, or do you want Luzhin to lose?" Valentinov chooses not to answer. His silence says it all.</div> <bR> <div> Luzhin meets Natalia Karkhov (Emily Watson), a young socialite, as he is taking a walk on the grounds of the resort, all the while making notes of possible combinations of moves in the upcoming chess matches. She picks up something that drops from his tattered pockets. Tattered also describes Luzhin's demeanor, both in how he relates to people, as well as how he looks. His world is chess; his conversation is chess; he knows nothing other than chess. But he falls in love with Natalia instantly, and she is captivated by his intensity.</div> <bR> <div> Natalia's mother (Geraldine James), an aristocrat from Russia, wants her to marry a French count, Jean de Stassard (Christopher Thompson), who is also attending the matches. She is horrified when she meets and talks to Alex, and tries to convince Natalia that Jean is much better suited for her. Natalia and Luzhin are attracted to each other and they become the soul mates each may have never known they were looking for. They are, indeed, the odd couple, who manages to bring true passion and love into their lives for the first time. Still, that does not mean there will be a happy ending.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I>The Luzhin Defence</I> is a fascinating story, adapted from the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. At first it appears to be a film about winning an important chess match, with a love story coming together at the same time. What we learn is that it's about people finding out who they are and then trying to determine if they can find happiness against considerable odds. For Luzhin, chess has driven him to the point of insanity and his only salvation appears to be to give up the game.  Just as he fell in love with chess right away as a child, the same is the case when he meets Natalia. Love, perhaps more so than chess, seems to be in his future.</div> <bR> <div> Natalia and Luzhin are on the brink of having him focus on the love between them, to save his sanity, when Valentinov begins to manipulate things, to pressure Luzhin. Valentinov's plan is to have the pleasure of seeing him lose to Turati in the championship match.</div> <bR> <div> As with the movie <A HREF="id843.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The House of Mirth"><U><I><B>The House of Mirth,</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id843.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The House of Mirth"><U> </U></A>you may leave the theater feeling good about some things and frustrated about others. Not only because of the film itself, but the reality of facing life. There is a great element of perseverance portrayed in this film, tempered with an ultimate surrender. Turturro and Watson both deliver outstanding performances, and their characters' relationship, while having two seemingly very different personalities, shows that opposites really do attract. </div> <bR> <div> However, just because some things ought to be, does not mean they will be. Life often is not fair…that <I>is</I> life.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> PG-13 (mature themes and some sensuality)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> John Turturro: <A HREF="id750.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="O Brother, Where Art Thou?"><U><I><B>O Brother, Where Art Thou?</B></I></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Emily Watson: <I><B>Angela's Ashes</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="323"><div> Mark Tandy: Food of Love</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Kelly Hunter: Life Force-TV</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="323"><div> Alexander Hunting: Debut</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Orla Brady: Wuthering Heights-TV</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Stuart Wilson: <I><B>Enemy of the State</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Geraldine James: Gold-TV</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="323"><div> Fabio Sartor: Jesus-TV</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Christopher Thompson: Waiting</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="323"><div> Marleen Gorris: Antonia's Line</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="249"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="249" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>