Das lügenhafte Leben der Erwachsenen

This series provides a rare opportunity to experience something real while watching Netflix.

You will find complex characters that develop, rather than resolve; moral dilemmas that are not black and white; a study on hypocrisy; theme of forgiveness/moving on/acceptance of humanity in all its flawed glory.. and all of it is set against the backdrop of grimy, sketchy Naples in the 90s - which looks pretty much opposite to the "eat-pray-love" kind of Italy.

Each episode was thought provoking for multiple reasons, and I devoured the series the way I devour cold coconut water on a hot summer day.

I docked a star for the horrendous musical score.

I have never read the novel by Elena Ferrante, so i can not make a direct comparison.

The series starts slowly, almost plotless. The story is not eventful, but it's the characterization and the development of the characters the real aim. The personal growth, the come of age, the discovery of the world is perfectly told in this raw, true and beautifully shot depiction on the background of an enchanting, then haunted Naples.

Valeria Golino's performance is astonishing and the rest of the cast is not of any less.

A small pearl to watch and appreciate on its own regardless the book, as a deep representation of human beings and their relationships.

When reading Elena Ferrante's books I had a feeling of shame, as I became increasingly conscious of the fact that what I was reading is bad literature well written. The same happens with this series.

Good cinematography, beautiful photography, effective soundtrack, spot on casting. And yet... It doesn't work.

The problem is the backbone of the story, the characters. Why is everyone in this so confused about everything? Like, all the time, constantly confused, tense, lost. Why? Why are the main characters doing what they do? What are their reasons? We don't know and we are not given a chance to know, to understand them at least a bit. We don't learn about them, we just see them being erratic and confused, all of them, all the time during the six episodes the season lasts. Boh.

A masterpiece that represents the life of an adolescent in the context of Naples in the 90ties. The characters are beatifully cast in this multilayer drama in which different theme's in a fascinating way are connected. The coming of age, the tensions between social classes, family conflicts against a background of various aspects of the architecture of Naples, from villa's at the beach till depressing industry compounds. Never a dull moment. If you like Italy and the culture you ate well served. But don't expect an ameticanlike fast food movie with unilineair characters and easy digesting storylines. But if you are ready gor this Italian experience you will not be disappointed.

As "The Lying Lives of Adults" (2023 release from Italy; 6 episodes each of about 50 min) opens, we are introduced to teenager Giovanna and her parents. She overhears her dad lamenting that Giovanna "is becoming a spitting image of my sister", Aunt Vittoria, from whom he's been estranged for years. Giovanna's curiosity is peaked. What has become of Aunt Vittoria? Why is she estranged from the family? At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest film adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante, best known for her "My Brilliant Friend" saga (also adapted into a TV series). Once again the story is set in Napoli, but this time we are in the mid-90s (we can figure that out from various information in the initial episodes). In this type of series, what makes or brakes it is the storytelling, and once again Ferrera delivers the goods. One cannot help but compare this to "My Brilliant Friend" and it is true that it lacks the epic scale that "My Brilliant Friend" presented, and it also misses the iconic lead performances featured in "My Brilliant Friend". But I found "The Lying Life of Adults" nevertheless to be worth my time and attention.

"The Lying Life of Adults" was released by Netflix a few weeks ago in early January, and I just got around to binge-watching the 6 episodes over 2 consecutive evenings. If you are a fan of "My Brilliant Friend", I'd readily suggest you check this out as well, and draw your own conclusion. If you haven't seen either of "My Brilliant Friend" or "The Lying Life of Adults", I'd suggest you start with "My Brilliant Friend" (to date the TV adaptation of 3 of the 4 books have been released on HBO/HBO Max).