Name: The Law According to Lidia Poët
Director: Letizia Lamartire, Matteo Rovere
Released: 2023-02-16T00:06:45

Based on the true story of Lidia Poët, The Law According to Lidia Poët follows the titular character, who helps her clients get justice even when her registration to the Bar Association is declared invalid. The series is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

In 1883, the Turin Court of Appeals declares Lidia’s registration to the Bar Association null and void because she is a woman, preventing her from practicing law.

With nowhere to go, she turns to her elder brother, Enrico, for help. Enrico and his wife, Teresa, reluctantly agree to let her stay with them. Their daughter, Marianna, and Teresa’s journalist brother, Jacapo, also live in the same house.

Lidia promises her brother that she will not challenge the sentence of the Court of Appeals if he agrees to represent her current client. Soon, Enrico lets her work as his assistant, which allows her to take new cases and investigate them.

Lidia faces several challenges and dangers as she goes above and beyond to assist her clients. At the same time, she does not give up on her plan to get the court’s ruling overturned. Lidia, a woman ahead of her time, is determined to fight for her rights and prove her worth as a lawyer.

Performances

Matilda De Angelis as Lidia gives a convincing performance. She is able to express her character’s frustration, anger, playfulness, dejection, and determination as per the needs of the script.

Pierluigi Pasino as Enrico gives his own unique touch to his character to make him stand out. It is because of him that Enrico’s character seems layered, and the viewers cannot help but like him.

Eduardo Scarpetta as Jacopo also plays his part well. Even when he helps Lidia, Scarpetta makes it very evident that his character has secrets of his own; he makes Jacopo look easygoing and mysterious at the same time.

Although Dario Aita, who plays Andrea, does not appear for long durations very often, but he manages to look extremely charming whenever he makes an appearance. The whole cast played their respective parts well.

Positives

The show’s portrayal of Turin, as it was in the late 1800s, is praiseworthy. The sets and the costumes are beautiful; they help transport the viewers to Italy of the nineteenth century.

The show depicts marriage as an economic transaction, as it was during that time, with women rarely having a say in decisions pertaining to their own future. It accurately highlights this issue with the help of a few emotional scenes.

There are times, however few, when the show successfully creates mystery around a case. It would be unfair not to give the last case its due; it leaves the viewers on the edge of their seats.

Negatives

The music used in the show does not work in its favor. It seems anachronistic and breaks the illusion that the viewers are witnessing the events of the nineteenth century.

Lidia’s story takes a backseat in favor of the cases that are not always mysterious and thrilling. The search for truth seems repetitive, with Lidia and Jacopo sneaking into places to gather evidence or Lidia asking Enrico to catch someone red-handed.

Verdict

The Law According to Lidia Poët is an average show that could have been better. The viewers can give it a chance for Lidia Poët’s story or for the sets and the costumes, but apart from that, there is not much that the show has to offer.