“Queen of Katwe” summons up some old-fashioned attributes: strong cast, inspirational true story, capable filmmakers. That’s enough for Disney’s purposes in this feel-good picture.
The film is based on the experiences of Phiona Mutesi, an adolescent girl from the slums outside Kampala, Uganda. Her story is surprising enough to be captivating.
In the film, we meet Phiona (played by newcomer Maldina Nalwanga) in the midst of intense poverty. Her salvation comes through the game of chess.
A local soccer coach, Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) has re-fashioned an old church to use as a kind of clubhouse. He’s got some chess sets in there, and kids come to learn the game and pass the time.
Quickly, Phiona shows off a gift for the complex strategies of the board game. Her prowess even earns her the chance to travel to tournaments.
All of this is bewildering to her single mother, Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o, the Oscar-winner from “12 Years a Slave”). In the mother’s grim world, the idea of playing a game is basically surreal.
Phiona’s story was brought to light in a 2011 ESPN magazine article by Tim Crothers. The material might have become fodder for a standard piece of uplift, but “Queen of Katwe” is better than that.
Disney has made this into a family-friendly film, so we certainly do not witness the full range of misery indicated by the setting. This compromise means the story will be seen by many more people than would otherwise have seen it, and that characters whose lives are unfamiliar to Westerners can be more familiar.
The key to making it work is director Mira Nair (“Monsoon Wedding”), whose own life has been partly spent in Uganda. Nair is especially good at sketching character, and she’s gotten fine work from her first-time lead actress as well as the two accomplished veterans.
Oyelowo lent a somber gravity to his Martin Luther King in “Selma,” but here he’s buoyant and ingratiating as the hard-working coach. He makes it look easy.
Nyong’o is the revelation. Very little seen before her Oscar role, she’s in a completely different mode here. Disappearing into the role of an illiterate but proud woman, she gives a very physical performance, wary and guarded. She keeps the movie grounded, as it should be.
“Queen of Katwe” 3 stars
Disney produces this true inspirational story of an adolescent Ugandan girl who excels at chess despite her impoverished surroundings. Director Mira Nair keeps this from becoming simple uplift, and there are strong performances from David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o.
Rating: PG, for subject matter
Showing: Pacific Place
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