For a little while here on Popdose, I’ve been circling an idea about movies and I’ve really been stumping for films about real things, maybe smaller stakes, far fewer superheroes, etc. Wonder Boys, Fantasy Life, and “People Talking In Rooms Movies.”
I’ve got another movie about grown-ups here, which is ironic because it’s about a child: 1993’s Searching For Bobby Fischer.
It’s ostensibly about a child chess prodigy with a sportswriter father who succeeds in a cutthroat world either in spite of, or because of, his kind heart.
As true as it is that the child ends up teaching the adults how to be better people, that sentiment is so saccharine that I had a difficult time typing it. I’ll get to what I think the crux of the movie is later, but I want to talk first about who made it.
Steven Zaillian
Searching For Bobby Fischer is the first film he directed. Prior to that he had three screenwriting credits with his debut The Falcon And The Snowman (incredible Sean Penn & Timothy Hutton 1980s film).
Zaillian has had a great career as an upper-echelon screenwriter. His credits include: Schindler’s List, Moneyball, Gangs Of New York, Hannibal, The Irishman, American Gangster, Clear And Present Danger, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, among others.
What’s more interesting is that he only directed three movies: Searching For Bobby Fischer, 1998’s A Civil Action, and 2006’s All The King’s Men. All three of those pictures are perfect examples about my groupings of great real-stakes films for grown-ups or “people talking in rooms” movies.
Let’s just consider Zaillian’s 1993 for a moment. He was simultaneously getting a chance to direct a movie about a childhood chess prodigy while he was writing Schindler’s List, arguably the best and most important film about the Holocaust.
I see two patterns in his movies, either as director or writer. 1) He’s not afraid of a difficult adaptation or assignment, and 2) Even though the films are always ABOUT something, he manages to insert some pithy, distilled statements about life that make for great quotes. We’ll get to my favorites from Searching For Bobby Fischer shortly.
“That Guy” Hall Of Fame
I recently wrote about 5 favorite character actors, and Searching For Bobby Fischer is a “that guy” buffet for filmgoers.
Remember that this movie was released in 1993 which caught so many of these great actors before they became more known.
- William H. Macy – As an obnoxious chess parent here. Just three years before Fargo.
- Laura Linney – Josh’s elementary school teacher here. Before she was sinister in The Truman Show and harried in You Can Count On Me.
- Tony Shalhoub – A burnt-out chess player here. Before Big Night, Men in Black and Galaxy Quest, then starring in TV’s Monk, et al.
- David Paymer – One of the good chess parents here. I wrote about him in our character actors piece.
- Dan Hedaya – A stern tournament director here. He was always established and a great Nick on Cheers but still was about to appear in The Usual Suspects and Clueless and a fantastic Richard Nixon in Dick.
- Austin Pendleton – Another burnt-out chess player here. He was already in the middle of a great character actor career and just one year removed from his role as the stuttering lawyer in My Cousin Vinny.
And I’m leaving out Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Laurence Fishbourne and Ben Kingsley who are Josh’s parents and chess coaches, respectively. They are the stars who probably got this one greenlit. This is one stacked cast. You’d be hard pressed to come up with another movie with actors ten-deep that are this good.
While we’re talking about acting, we have to mention the actor playing 7-year-old Josh, Max Pomeranc. He was apparently a chess player himself, and it was his first movie. That is hard to believe. He seems so natural in this movie.
Not only that, let’s face it, he’s actually the star of the movie. Jake Gyllenhall cited Pomeranc’s performance as one of the best he’s ever seen
He acted just a handful of times after this, going on to a career in government. Good for him to get out of the business, seriously.
Time For The Quotes
The structure of this movie is rock solid. It has an unusual amount of great standalone scenes, but they all fit within the overall plot of Josh learning to become great with several teachers, then has to overcome the foibles of his those mentors and let his personality and humanity win the day, which ironically makes him a better chess player in his case.
As I’ve said, in the middle of this movie I love, there are some real pearls of wisdom:
Josh’s sportswriter dad (Joe Mantegna and his great yelling line reading here):
BONNIE: He’s not afraid of losing. He’s afraid of losing your love. How many ball players grow up afraid of losing their fathers’ love every time they come up to the plate?
FRED: All of them!
When Josh’s mother (Joan Allen) responds to chess coach Bruce (Ben Kingsley) who doesn’t want him playing chess in the park:
BONNIE: No. It’d kill him not to play in the park. He loves it.
BRUCE: It just makes my job harder.
BONNIE: Then your job’s harder.
Vinnie, the great junkie and chess player who takes Josh under his wing and keeps chess creative and fun.
VINNIE: He didn’t teach you how to win, he taught you how not to lose. That’s nothing to be proud of.
Josh’s dad losing it on the schoolteacher’s (Laura Linney) lack of understanding about Josh’s talent for chess:
FRED: He’s better at this than I’ve ever been at anything in my life. He’s better at this than you’ll ever be, at anything. My son has a gift. He has a gift, and when you acknowledge that, then maybe we will have something to talk about.
Adult Failure
But the most chilling scene to me, when I really worry about what all of these adults are doing to Josh are when his chess teacher gives in to Josh stubbornly wanting a certificate as part of his usual reward system, Ben Kingsley flips out and dumps 10 then 30 on him and tells him they’re worthless, they’re just a piece of paper.
Josh’s mother stands up for him, but everything about chess and in his life is getting too heavy. He was a normal kid with a sloppy room, but under the stress he cleaned it up obsessively to a spooky amount. His overzealous dad even then knew the whole thing had gone too far.
The adults in the room don’t individually do a great job of parenting or advising Josh. Bruce is too hardcore in chess discipline. Vinnie is too loose to be a champion. Josh’s dad is pushing too hard. And the other chess parents have absolutely lost focus on what’s important. The adults are projecting all sorts of things on the children.
But collectively, all of their input together possibly does make Josh better. When his parents and coaches are all a little more in alignment, things work out better for Josh. He’s back to being a happy kid while simultaneously being a chess champion. His offer of a draw to the asshole competitor shows his kindness and Josh still gets to kick his ass in the end.
Comments