Petra: an italian detective - Part 2

The protagonist of Petra is not the world-famous Jordanian city, but an Italian detective with the same name, played by one of the best actresses of the last decade of Italian cinema, a continuous surprise, critically acclaimed and loved by the local public: Paola Cortellesi.

The Roman actress takes on the role of a cynical, silent, rough woman, becoming, in fact, the symbol of a feminism that finally crosses the threshold of words to become image, even in our country.

It's about time.

Petra is, in fact, a woman who loves loneliness but suffers in being alone, who hates love but has married twice, who does not want to get involved but can not let go of the bone, who says she hates dogs but softens in front of a mutt, who shuns all friendship but can not detach herself from those who mean something to her.

She might seem a hypocritical and confused woman, the one just described, instead it is the portrait of a complex, contemporary and daring woman.

Just as I remembered Boris as the first real Italian series and Gomorrah and Crime Novel as the first Italian series with an international slant, I am sure that one day, in 10 years' time, someone with the same passion as me will write on her blog that, in 2020, Petra was the first Italian TV series starring a strong, independent and new woman.

The character of Cortellesi is perhaps the first example of a woman, told on TV, far from the classic "stereotypes" of Italian women.

Our protagonist is not a nun, she is not a doctor, she is not a housewife, she is not a sparring partner of some main male character.

Without wanting to take anything away from those who play or have played nuns, doctors, housewives or secondary characters, Petra manages to go further, offering us a portrait of a different woman, much more contemporary, much more stratified and complex.

This is, for sure, the greatest merit of the Sky TV series signed by Maria Sole Tognazzi, who directed it, and Ilaria Macchia, Giulia Calenda and Furio Andreotti, who wrote the screenplay, in a park of authors almost entirely female.

Petra is a lawyer who, for reasons not known to us, works in the Genoese state police, relegated to uninspiring office work and carried out in the basement of the station itself.

A fortuitous case will lead her to be operational again and, as in the best tradition of procedural crime, to find new stimuli, make new relationships and breathe something overwhelming again.

The meeting with Deputy Inspector Antonio Monte (played by a surprising Andrea Pennacchi aka "Il Pojana" seen on Propaganda Live) will mark the dawn of a new pair of atypical but effective investigators.

Petra was born and evolves in this way, in the trait of a woman who would not want to emerge but emerges, professionally, humanly and narratively.

The story is not extraordinary. Nothing we see is particularly original. There are no scenes that make us cry out for a miracle.
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Nothing transcendental in short, yet Petra works.

The Sky miniseries succeeds in bringing the patterns and structure of the detective series, of the British, American and Italian author series, to Italy.

Dark but ironic protagonist? Check.

Intricate and interesting episodes? Check

Characters in continuous evolution? Check

More "adult" and politically incorrect language? Check

Locations with a soul? Check

The impression is that Petra wanted to replicate, Italianizing, some international operations such as True Detective, Broadchurch, City On A Hill, Criminal, Defending Jacob by taking small pieces, drawing single cues from each one and bringing it into Petra's world.

Obviously the above mentioned series have something more, they are "better", but here to be appreciated is the attempt to break away from the tradition of detective priests, nice Carabinieri, super serious and efficient state police, and offer a different picture, a protagonist and a different story, much more credible, much more real.