CAPSULE: Queen of Katwe (2016, Dir. Mira Nair)

Mira Nair knows how to do colour. She knows how to do colour more than Disney knows how to do grit. The amalgamation of the two makes an odd beast out of Queen of Katwe. Vibrant colour and sanitised poverty make the triumphal true life story of Phiona Mutesi, the young chess prodigy from the slums of Kampala, both stirring and reductive.

With Disney, that is a given though, so all respect goes out to Nair for giving life to this story. Her energy rubs off on her exquisite cast (which includes the sublime Lupita Nyong'o, who has barely been seen in the flesh since her Oscar win in 2014) and drives Queen of Katwe through its stock standard slum-riser take on Mutesi's extraordinary achievements.

It is the film's personality (and almost the personality alone) that does Mutesi justice. Nyong'o's firey mother, Danny Oyelowo's dependable mentor and Madina Nalawanga, as the young chess champion herself, define the dogged spirit of the film far more than its curiously arced narrative. And with the headliners backed by a cast of local kids trained up by Nair for the shoot and her lively framing, there is never a lack of energy onscreen.

It is a shame there is not too much to Queen of Katwe beyond that. William Wheeler's screenplay (after Tim Crother's book) doesn't feel as connected to Uganda as those delivering it, and its generic triumph-over-adversity themes bland out a story that could have gone far more interesting places. Instead, Mutesi's life will be fodder for teen inspiration the world over. It will certainly be a big screen thrill for everyone in Katwe. I'm just not sure it has the grunt to breakdown the Hollywood barriers it so vibrantly kicks against.

★★★

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