Unorthodox

Unorthodox works. It feels like an immersive documentary about a woman who comes of age while escaping the oppressive religious community that has defined her entire life. And a big reason for that is a superb performance by Shira Haas.

All along, “Unorthodox” builds a steady emotional tapestry that culminates in its bracing finale scenes, when the stakes at hand matter less than the way each character processes their decisions. Yet none of those circumstances would hit too hard if not for the undercurrent of authenticity brought by Haas at the center of nearly ever scene. The 24-year-old actress is an instant sensation who commands every moment she’s on screen.

Information about Esty’s background leaks out little by little. ... That approach is one of the things that makes Unorthodox — which is both a character study and, once Yanky and his dodgy cousin Moishe (Jeff Wilbusch) try to track Etsy down in Germany, a pseudo-thriller — so arresting. ... Haas gives an extraordinary performance here.

A gripping and carefully constructed four-part Netflix drama. ... What’s impressive about the series, created by Anna Winger and Alexa Karolinski (and directed by Maria Schrader), is how it builds out the story by indulging the viewer’s curiosity, in flashback form, in a way that adds shape and empathy to both the Hasidic tradition and Esty’s rejection of it. ... Haas lends a grave and yet vulnerable luminescence to the role; a viewer can’t help but be riveted by what will happen next, making the show a satisfying binge-watch.

What unfolds is a story of personal discovery with the intensity of a spy thriller. ... Haas is a phenomenon, expressive and captivating.

We wish Unorthodox didn’t have the menacing specter of Esty’s estranged husband (more accurately, his family) interfering with her story of discovery, but the story is well-told despite the thriller aspect.

There's a tremendous intimacy here as, sometimes in a very literal sense, you're being let behind a curtain. And in that intimacy, buoyed by language code-switching from Yiddish to English to German, Unorthodox finds a lot of humanity, even in the characters who are surely villains. That plus the vulnerable-then-fierce performance from Haas allowed me to put aside other reservations and find fascination in this occasionally wobbly, often inspiring story.

The show’s plot is not always as convincing as its characters; the centrality of the conservatory to Esty’s storyline, in which it functions as a social hub, a source of hope and on one occasion an overnight shelter can feel especially contrived. Yet, thanks in large part to uniformly fine performances, creators Anna Winger and Alexa Karolinski render each character’s constantly shifting emotional states with rare precision.

At times the plot of Unorthodox feels a little too carefully devised to maneuver characters into places where they can encounter one another; at the same time, that makes for pleasurably succinct storytelling.