1) Shira Haas is a STAR! Early contender for best performance of the year.
2) Orthodox has 4 episodes. I cried once in every episode. When people say “oh that made me cry,” it’s usually a bit of hyperbole. It made you FEEL like crying, or you might’ve had one tear, but you’re not actually sitting there crying. So let me re-phrase. Orthodox has 4 episodes. I felt like crying in three episodes and I was BOO-HOO SOBBING in one. Had to pause the show, wipe my face, re-center myself, and finish the episode. (Spoilers at the end because I wanna tell y’all where I cried!)
3) Living in NY and interacting with Satmar Jews while still having no idea what their lives are like, I actually love movies about their community when they’re written from a place of reverence. Disobedience (Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams) is one of my favorite dramas of recent years partly because they paid so much respect to the community and took care to portray the traditions accurately. Unorthodox would be interesting simply from a cultural perspective.
4) The details of the movie are unique, but the overall theme is universal — a young woman without options takes a leap of faith to choose her own destiny and discover who she is. It’s incredibly powerful and relatable to anybody who has made a huge detour from the path originally set out for them.
5) The “sex therapist” SENT ME! She’s so good and her Yiddish feels so New York in a way nobody else’s did.
6) I don’t know what else to say without spoiling it, which I don’t want to do in any way because it’s such a fulfilling emotional journey! It’s legitimately the best thing I’ve watched all year.
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SPOILERS!!!
7) So. Episode 1 I cried when she went into the lake. Episode 2 I cried while she was making salad dressing. Episode 3 I cried when she was telling her husband that his family needs to back off. Episode 4 I STRAIGHT UP BAWLED MY EYES OUT when she sang the second song. I’m tearing up again just thinking about it. That might be my favorite performance of a song in a move ever.
8) Esty really went to a brand new country and found a scholarship, a man, and a new group of friends in like 2 weeks??? Maybe I need to shave my head and move to Berlin to because this New York mess ain’t working out.
9) Yanky is such an interesting character! Part of me was actually hoping he would win her back, and I think it’s because the guy playing him put a lot nuance into how he portrayed the character. He actually cares about her, but he’s not allowed to support her the way he would outside of the confines of the community. I teared up when he cut off his payot for her.
10) Yanky is also super cute. Here’s his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amitrahav8/
Score: 9.5 / 10
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