“The lying life of adults” and the discovery of the rules of the adult world: everyone lies (fortunately)

Will arrive on January 4, 2023 on Netflix the serial adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel “The Lying Life of Adults”. Six episodes of fifty minutes each, set in Naples in the nineties and which have at the center the figure of Giovanna, an adolescent in search of her own identity. Daughter of a wealthy leftist, cultured and idealistic family from Vomero, Giovanna tries to free herself from an existential perimeter that is too narrow for her. The fuse for change is traced to that aunt Victoria, the sister of Giovanna’s father with whom the man is in open conflict and with whom he has broken off relations. Giovanna is intrigued by her “presence – non-presence” in her family, which seems to shuffle the cards with respect to a certain way of living and interpreting her existence. She goes to meet her and from here she begins her journey into the (liar) life of adults. In fact, everyone lies, or at least tell and bring out their personal vision of the truth, in a world that becomes more chiaroscuro but also more interesting. And where you can try to be yourself or at least put yourself to the test to discover yourself. “The lying life of adults” is therefore a story of formation, an emotional education which, through the events of a girl on the threshold of adolescence, begins in adulthood understood as self-awareness and the rules of the world of adults. The series, the second serial adaptation of Ferrante’s novels, is produced by Fandango and directed by Edoardo De Angelis who also signs the screenplay together with Ferrante, Laura Paolucci and Francesco Piccolo. The rookie is the protagonist Giordana Marengovery good in the role of Giovanna, who is flanked by Valeria Golino, perfect in the role of Aunt Vittoria, Alessandro Preziosi – equally balanced and subtle in his interpretation of Giovanna’s father – and Pina Turco.

What are the main ingredients of the series “The lying life of adults”?

The series, very rich both in terms of narrative density and visual texture, has the advantage of staging different elements that blend well with each other. There is first the story of the city of Naples – well returned by De Angelis – and its contradictions, in the juxtaposition between wealthy and poor neighborhoods, in the luxuriant aesthetics to which the more dilapidated (and perhaps vivid) one takes precedence. There is then the rendering of the tale of adolescence, brought to the scene by Giovanna with her friends and cousins: wealthy people who frequent the world of raves, who fight over their political ideas and who are looking for their place in the world and a sort of social acceptance. An adolescence marked by the music of Almamegretta and 99Posse rather than by Massive Attack’s “Better things”. And then there is the adult world of the Trada family, where the polarizations become more exaggerated and pass from belonging to different social classes, to the way of dressing, of eating, of approaching reality.

How much of Ferrante’s novel is there in the series “The Lying Life of Adults”?

The series is the adaptation of the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante, published in 2019 by E/O. The audiovisual transposition is substantially faithful to the original novel, adding some more digestible elements for a large platform audience such as copious musical grafts and a precise and captivating adolescent aesthetic. The – shareable – choice of the director and the authors was to raise the age of Giovanna and her friends a little, bringing them to the threshold of adolescence (and thus allowing themselves some visual and storytelling hazards that are difficult to appreciate when seen on young girls smaller). However, all of Ferrante’s typical imagery remains very present and carnal, the changing story of characters and situations, the emotional and plastic rendering of her characters who are always true, as well as many phrases borrowed directly from the novel that give strength and credibility to the story.

What is the tone of the three-bar series?

“For us, Aunt Vittoria is a saying”.

“I found myself inside a story that wasn’t mine”.

“Before leaving home, my father told my mother that I was ugly. He didn’t say it directly but he used a comparison. He spoke softly but said so ”.