Unorthodox is an intense miniseries on Netflix that should be on everyone’s watch list. Consisting of four episodes, this series is the streaming service’s first show to be primarily spoken in Yiddish. Loosely based on Deborah Feldman’s 2012 autobiography book Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, this show seriously took my breath away. Tragic, awe-inspiring, and powerful. Unorthodox tells the tale of a young woman breaking away from the Ultra-Orthodox community in Williamsburg, New York City to start a new life in Berlin, Germany.
Spoilers
Shira Haas is an Israeli actress who plays nineteen-year-old Esty Shapiro. Raised in the Hassidic community of Brooklyn for all her life, Esty is deeply involved in her culture’s customs. A year prior, Esty is married off to Yanky Shapiro via a matchmaker. While Esty thought this was the start of a new life, she slowly sees that she wants more than what she was raised in. Yanky is insecure, tells his mother of Esty’s problems in bed, and his family and the community frequently belittle Esty due to her mother defecting from the community years ago to live in Germany.
It’s when Yanky looks for a divorce, due to them not being compatible for each other; that Esty decides to flee. We later find out that Esty is pregnant, but does not want to be forced to remain within the community, as everything has been blamed on her. Esty decides to shed her roots in search of a less repressive life in Berlin, where she meets friends and even begins a musical education. For the first time, Esty is wearing what she wants, having fun, and even playing music; something that is forbidden for her. Yanky and his cousin Moishe are deployed to Germany to bring her home, whether she wants to or not.
An Honest Look Inside
Unorthodox is a raw depiction of Hassidic customs and I need to say that this review is not at all mean to slander those customs. Rather, it’s simply seeing everything through Esty’s eyes. There’s a scene in the first episode where she sheds her wig and seeing her take a free breath for the first time in her life was incredibly powerful. Everyone should have a choice and be free to do what they want. Esty wanted to leave and she had to sacrifice a lot to do so, but she also learned a lot on the way, including the truth about her mother.
Unlike shows like Hanna which depict the main character as “weird” and unaccepted by people she discovers along the way, Esty is welcomed and accepted by her Berlin friends. Even though she’s different, doesn’t know how the internet works, and can be timid at times (though she shows some courageous strength at the end), they welcome her in with open arms. There’s some tension between her and another girl in the group for a brief moment, but that’s quickly squashed. Everyone is different and not only does Esty see that, but it’s portrayed beautifully in the show.
What Does Faith Mean to You?
Unorthodox explores religion, faith, practices, and how all of that means different things to different people. Yanky is unlikeable for most of the show, but does show some redeeming qualities towards the end. His cousin Moishe has a lot of mystery surrounding him, as he too seems to have defected at some point. Clearly went back to the community. Watching the differences between Moishe and Yanky was interesting throughout the four episodes. It was also incredibly interesting watching the customs of the Hassidic community played out, which I have read are all very accurate.
Rating: 4.5/5
Whatever you take away from Unorthodox, I hope you take something away. I also hope you do give it a chance. I really felt raw emotion from this series and have really nothing bad to say about it.
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
