Oct. 6, 2020, 11:55 a.m.
Timely Stuff: Netflix’s Masterful “Medici: Masters of Florence” Delights and Entertains
Gold-Plated Girls
In Timely Stuff, Hayley reviews period dramas currently available for streaming and decides whether they’re worth your time or not.
This post contains light spoilers for Medici: Masters of Florence.
There is something I need to address before I begin this review, because I want my readers to know that while I try to be a straightforward and objective critic, I am also human. A human who finds Richard Madden insanely attractive, like many of us do. So yes, I enjoyed this series where he is the brooding lead. I believe that this show holds its own without him, but like I said, these are the stakes of this review (I typed “steaks” first, probably because I was thinking about hunk o’ meat, Richard Madden).
Additionally, there are three existing seasons of Medici: the first is titled Masters of Florence and the second two are Medici: The Magnificent. Because the cast changes after season one and we jump twenty years forward in time to explore the next generation of family members, I am going to review them separately. Also, I haven’t watched those seasons yet because when I found out Richard Madden isn’t in them I got mad.
Okay, now we can proceed.
Netflix’s Medici: Masters of Florence is exactly what you’re looking for if you miss Game of Thrones and House of Cards but want something that explores the personal and political workings of a powerful family with a tad less violence, more believable repercussions, and better costumes. You will also enjoy this if you’re still hung up on your European study abroad program.
Masters of Florence begins in 1429 with the sudden death of Giovanni Medici (Dustin Hoffman) by suspected poisoning. His shrewd eldest son, Cosimo (Richard Madden), snaps into action to keep the family in power while also trying to figure out who killed his father. The first few episodes utilize time jumps to go back twenty years earlier, where we watch how Giovanni works tirelessly to ensure his banking family’s status and power. We see a much more sensitive Cosimo, sketching and painting, who is simply delighted to be living amid the artists of Renaissance Italy. We watch Giovanni tear Cosimo away from his artistic pursuits in favor of the family business. Giovanni also sends away the common woman Cosimo has fallen in love with, and forces him into a politically advantageous marriage with Contessina de Bardi (Annabel Scholey), a noblewoman who brings the Medici family much-needed status in Florentine society.
[ID: Cosimo (Richard Madden) and Contessina (Annabel Scholey) look at each other intensely.]
The juxtaposition of young Cosimo and Contessina alongside their present-day counterparts is incredibly compelling, and provides a richness of insight into both characters we either wouldn’t have gotten or would have been messy and underdeveloped without a time jump. They can be tricky to pull off, and sometimes they are completely unnecessary, but when they are utilized effectively, there’s simply nothing like a time jump.
Other key players for the Medici family include Cosimo’s younger brother Lorenzo (Stuart Martin), his son, Piero (Alessandro Sperduti), and his daughter-in-law, Lucrezia (Valentina Bellè). There is also Marco Bello (Guido Caprino), who plays the crucial catch-all role of Cosimo’s henchman/confidante and does the dirty detective work of trying to get leads on Giovanni’s murder. Is it lazy to just have Cosimo say, “Hey Marco Bello, look into that!” whenever they need to gain momentum on the murder plot? Maybe. But there’s no way Cosimo is going to do the dirty work himself; plus Marco Bello has his own narrative arc beyond just being the family TaskRabbit.
[ID: Young Lorenzo (Stuart Martin) and Cosimo (Richard Madden) de Medici stand with their father, Giovanni (Dustin Hoffman), in the Florence Signoria.]
A big pet peeve of mine is when period dramas rely too heavily on our accepted modern shorthand of historical power dynamics. Behavior, especially towards wives and daughters, is routinely cold and dismissive if not outright violent. We see the Duc d’Orléans smack his daughter across the face on her wedding night in Versailles; we watch Henry VIII vilify and demean wife after wife on The Tudors for failing to produce an heir (or even a viable pregnancy). Period dramas seem to pile on scene after scene of men violently striking their wives and daughters to remind you that this is the “olden days” when things were just “like that,” which is stupid for a variety of reasons, the top one being that domestic violence still very much exists today.
That’s why I was surprised to see Cosimo tenderly embrace Piero and Lucrezia when he finds out that Lucrezia lost her pregnancy. He warmly assures them there will be others. We see Cosimo’s relationship with Piero ebb and flow as Cosimo doubts, then realizes, then bolsters (and eventually undermines) his son’s abilities. When Lucrezia feels powerless in her status as a childless wife, Contessina reassures her of her value and how she can maintain it despite living in a world ruled by men. Piero and Lucrezia genuinely love each other and find support and companionship in their relationship. Interactions are tender, frustrating, messy, and powerful. In other words: human. No one is berated for not living up to the standards of the time, with a chastising hand slapping across a woman’s face every few scenes to remind you that this is the 15th century.
[ID: Lucrezia (Valentina Bellè) whispers in the ear of Piero (Alessandro Sperduti) as he sits at his desk.]
The writing is masterful, the performances compelling, the directing compassionate. The journey that you go on with the Medici family never feels stagnant or predictable, and you find yourself both rooting for them and against them — sometimes in the same episode. A cast of fantastic, multi-faceted characters are played with impeccable precision and empathy by their respective actors. I like living in their world for 52 minutes at a time, and I think you will too.
Medici: Masters of Florence (2016)
The first season of Netflix’s Medici trilogy has eight 52-minute episodes.
Pros: Not a weak performance in the bunch. Great writing. Impeccable pacing. Fun Renaissance costumes and architecture. A tasteful amount of sex scenes. Richard Madden.
Cons: You can see the lace front of Annabel Scholey’s wig literally every time they do a close up of Contessina and I am still mad about it.
Do I recommend it? Yes, this is thoroughly enjoyable television.
If you missed Hayley’s review of “Versailles” you can read it here. If you have a show in mind that you want covered on Timely Stuff email goldplatedgirls@gmail.com and let Hayley know!