‘Queen Of Katwe’ review: “Impressive and inspirational”

Queen Of Katwe review: Disney break out the old formula for this impressive, inspirational drama that will have you engrossed from start to finish.

Queen Of Katwe review by Paul Heath, TIFF ’16.

Disney rehashes the Cool Runnings formula with this family-friendly real-life tale of one young girl’s willingness to succeed in the world of competitive chess playing.

This biographical tale from director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair), follows Ugandan slum-dweller Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwaga) who stumbles upon Robert Katende’s (David Oyelowo) chess school. Initially bullied for her personal hygiene, Phiina sticks it out and slowly learns the skill of the great game from Katende and his group of underprivileged children. As her knowledge of chess grows, Katende realises that Phiona may just have a natural skill, and her talent may just see her reach beyond the confines of the slums, and potentially international recognition.

Queen Of Katwe is a movie that pretty much does what it says on the tin – a giant, visually stunning, paint-by-numbers, inspirational Disney movie that we’ve seen countless times before, including the aforementioned Cool Runnings or the Mouse House’s ice hockey equivalent Miracle. So yes, it is formulaic, but it is a formula that works. These types of movies don’t offer much in terms of surprise, but they do make up for it with their constant charm, wonderful performances and family-friendly message.

Everything about Queen Of Katwe is perfectly harmless. As we said above, the film has some wonderful touches – including director Mira Nair’s independent perspective on a big-budget affair, the wonderful vibrant cinematography from Sean Bobbit (12 Years A Slave, Shame). There’s also the superb screenplay from William Wheeler (The Reluctant Fundamentalist) who has crafted an engrossing piece, full of meaty dialogue for its cast of actors to feast upon.

Heading up that cast in David Oyelowo in his second film playing at TIFF ’16 following his movie-stealing performance in A United Kingdom. His character in this couldn’t be any different, but his portrayal of ministry worker Robert Katende is heartfelt, warm and supremely underplayed to perfection. Then there’s Lupita Nyong’O, equally as impactful as the feisty, strong-willed mother of Phiona, Nakku Harriet, a poverty-stricken matriarch struggling to make ends meet as her daughter continues on her dream to become a master of the game. And then there’s the young cast, most of whom have never acted in a movie before. All are exceptional, but a noticeable stand-out has to be the gifted Madina Nalwanga who also makes her acting debut with the film. Nalwanga is nothing but exceptional in every scene and really holds her own opposite award-winners Oyelowo and Nyong’O, and we certainly hope to see more from her in the future.

My only gripe with the film is actually its length. Coming in at over two-hours, the film may numb the butts of some younger viewers, but, saying that, the pace never feels sluggish and each scene is beautifully presented feels relevant to moving the story along and in no way feels out of place.

Queen Of Katwe is another worthy addition to Disney’s glowing arsenal of treats that stretches from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the Pixar movie and even to the more recently acquired Lucasfilm. So far this decade, the studio has been at the top of its game, and Queen Of Katwe secures their real-life inspirational family dramas even further. It really is the film we could watch over and over again, and truly one for all of the family.

Engrossing, inspirational and in places rather touching (just wait for the credits sequence), Queen Of Katwe actually makes you want to go and grab the nearest chess-board and take up the game. It really does for chess what Cool Runnings did for bobsleighs. Truly special.

Queen Of Katwe review by Paul Heath at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2016.

Queen Of Katwe will be released in the UK on 21st October 2016.