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The Luzhin Defence
Directed by
Marleen Gorris
PG-13
2001
1h 49m
Drama
,
Romance
6.8
58%
69%
6.2
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Two worlds collide when an eccentric genius falls in love with a strong-willed society beauty.
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Where to Watch The Luzhin Defence
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Cast of The Luzhin Defence
John Turturro
Aleksandr Ivanovich 'Sascha' Luzhin
Emily Watson
Natalia Katkov
Geraldine James
Vera, Natalia's Mother
Stuart Wilson
Valentionov
Fabio Sartor
Turati
Peter Blythe
Ilya
Orla Brady
Anna
Mark Tandy
Luzhin's Father
Kelly Hunter
Luzhin's Mother
Antonio Carli
Fascist
Marleen Gorris
Director
Peter Berry
Screenplay
Vladimir Nabokov
Novel
Jody Allen
Executive Producer
Péter Barbalics
Producer
Louis Becker
Producer
Stephen Evans
Producer
Philippe Guez
Producer
Leo Pescarolo
Producer
Eric Robison
Producer
The Luzhin Defence Ratings & Reviews
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
I realize that every film adaptation of a good novel involves some sort of trade-off and that fair exchanges are few and far between. But this movie takes away a good two-thirds...
Premiere Magazine
Glenn Kenny
One has to assume that Sony Pictures Classics hopes to attract Nabokov-philes to theaters. And, boy, will they be pissed.
Dallas Morning News
Chris Vognar
Makes up for a creaky structure with the intensity of emotion and psychological nuance provided by two of our finest screen actors.
Detroit Free Press
Terry Lawson
It plays a predictable, if pretty, game.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
A predictable, emotionally unengaging, and occasionally corny story.
Detroit News
Susan Stark
As brave as it is affecting.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Steve Murray
When Luzhin's old chess teacher shows up, the movie becomes a slow-motion wreck.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Desmond Ryan
If The Luzhin Defence falls short of being totally absorbing and compelling, it's surely because it's so difficult to translate Nabokov's view that we are all pawns in the big game.
Denver Post
Steven Rosen
Trapped between being an offbeat, slightly daffy period romance and a dark study of a tragic genius, The Luzhin Defence struggles to a draw.
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
Nabokov's novel is an internal adventure; the Gorris-Berry film is imperfect theater.
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
Just as Hicks did for the keyboard, Gorris makes the chessboard sexy, mostly by focusing not on it but on the people sitting at it.
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
An utterly hypnotic movie.
Seattle Times
John Zebrowski
Has many beautiful moments.
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
The film is elegiac and sad, beautifully mounted, but not as compelling as it should be.
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
If you accept this Defence as a compromise of its source ... you should find a lot to enjoy
San Francisco Chronicle
Bob Graham
By the time the center of gravity shifts to a villain who exploits Luzhin, the pleasure of following this film has turned to impatience.
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
A more than workable romance carried by gorgeous visuals and intense performances.
New York Times
A.O. Scott
Turturro, by conveying his character's painful, ecstatic inwardness, creates a bond of sympathy with the audience.
Entertainment Weekly
Ty Burr
Fine candy for mind and eye.
Newsday
Gene Seymour
Trumped by its own equivocations and reliance on hackneyed conventions.
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