Lessons in Chemistry

Go with the positive reviews. The naysayers are wrong. One person criticizes differences from the book. Oh, gee, that's never happened before, right? The acting is great, the story is compelling, and if it's different in some ways from the book, so what? Both can be good. It does present the challenges women faced in the patriarchal 50s. Perfectly? Is anything ever perfect? But no one can honestly say women didn't face some of the exact chauvinistic attitudes portrayed in the series. Stupidity and arrogance from men. Misogyny. And too many women willingly invested in that system. This show is well worth your time.

One of the biggest surprises for me this year is this gem of a show. Brie Larson is one of the greatest actresses alive today which she has shown over and over again, and we also know that she can carry the story on her own. What we did not know was the rest of the cast also are brilliant, and how compelling their characters and the story would be. The writing is amazing, the dialogue could perhaps use a bit more era authenticity, but is mostly spot on.

The small political innuendoes are greatly handled without taking it too far. I saw a few commentators complain, but please; go back to the 1950s as a woman and try to work in a field like chemistry - you will immediately realise that this show is probably even undercutting it. Besides it is only one main prop for the story, we see very little of it otherwise.

Instead this is more about the characters, and also the chemistry which make it very interesting to watch. This is so well made, and so well produced with such great acting I would say this might be the best TV show of the year. That is how good it is.

A weak 9/10. This is not perfect, and I noticed a few misses, and the language could use more era style, but otherwise this is just Brielliant.

Some shows exist only to make you feel good and this is one, a story with real heart. Beautifully written and played by the whole cast with Brie Larson excelling as the main character Elizabeth Zott. A show about cooking, about life, about love and relationships all pulled together through chemistry it runs the full gamut of emotions. It will challenge you, it will make you laugh at times and at times it will pull on your heartstrings. The show does not miss a beat with each episode consistently good as more is revealed and Elizabeth Zott grows through her experiences.

Sometimes with shows like this it can become overly sentimental but this show avoids that pitfall. All the characters and situations are believable and honourable mention to Alice Halsey that plays the gifted daughter Madeleine. Too often children are written as saccharine cute or so smart and precocious as to be annoying. This is another aspect that the show gets right. Madeleine is gifted, and Elizabeth has to find her a school that will challenge her enough to prevent her from becoming bored. The relationship between mother and daughter is played so beautifully and naturally it was one of the highlights for me.

Plus, as an added bonus we get a lovable dog that's ever present. In one episode we get a narration from the dogs point of view that also avoids falling into any traps and is just as important to the story as the other episodes, acting only to add more layers onto the 'lasagne'. The writing and direction is excellent.

I really enjoyed this and was left with a warm feeling of satisfaction at its conclusion.

What a pleasant surprise this was. Really, the only issues I see is macro plotting and pacing, which, at the outset, make it feel like it's spinning its wheels a bit too much. Once it does though, it's a force. It is subversive of genre in many ways. The acting is great (Larson is perfect casting especially) . It's unpredictable, thematically cogent, and gets messaging right- something tv shows rarely get right. Usually they beat you over the head with it or else have little to no point at all.

Like all fiction, of any medium, it has a lot to say about many things, and in doing so, has a quality of elegance about it.

I don't really write reviews, but In case of Lessons in Chemistry, I feel like I need to write one. This show is amazing, it's smart, it's funny, it's inspiring and it's beautiful.

My favorite part is the connection between Elizabeth and her daughter. It's so nice to see such an adult and honest relationship. I'm not sure it's possible to raise a kid like this in real life, but It definitely sounds amazing.

Elizabeth is really an inspiring character with all her knowledge about health and life and her values about family and friendships. She somehow seems to know it all.

I recommend this show to everyone who wants to soo some love, have some laughs, see some struggles and most importantly, get some motivation to life a little bit better life.