Computer Chess - 2013 - 3 Stars

Actors:  Patrick Riester, Wiley Wiggins
Director:  Andrew Bujalski

To what extent should we give credit to a film for getting the 'look' of a thing right?  Sure, all the early 80s haircuts and nerd mannerisms are in place in Computer Chess.  The black and whiteness of the film helps establish this feel (chess is also a game only in black and white, get it?).  However, Computer Chess can't really decide if it's a lo-fi comedy or a fictional examination of the people who would make computers play chess against one another in the early 1980s.  Are these people risible or compelling?  Furthermore, Computer Chess merely sketches the characters and expects us to fill in the gaps - I suppose part of the issue is that people who would program computers to play chess are not ultimately either that interesting or risible.