The Lying Life of Adults is a new series from the Novel. Italian author Elena Ferrante explains the part of life that adults lie about.
The series has six-episode in Italian-language, directed by Edoardo De Angelis and stars Giordana Marengo, who played the role of Giovanna. The Lying Life of Adults was released on January 4, 2023, on Netflix.
It is the story of a teenage girl named Giovanna who learns that the grown-ups have lied to her. She was only thirteen years old when she overheard her father, Andera, comparing her features with his aunt Vittoria.
Giovana was so confused about what her father had seen on her face that she was missing and what was happening to her. She was growing up with the pains from the age of thirteen while searching for identity and autonomy in a divided Naples.
She was always stressed about her changing body, including her recently getting periods. She also fears that her changing body signifies a personality because Aunt Vittoria is synonymous with internal and external ugliness.
Major Cast of The Lying Life of Adults
The major cast of The Lying Life of Adults are:
- Giovana
- Aunt Vittoria
Goivana’s Parents used to say that her Aunt Vittoria is mean. She tries to find a picture of her Aunt to see her face in her parents’ room.
Main character Goivana used to question herself about how her aunt looked, “Was she ugly?” or “Was she beautiful?”
Aunt Vittoria never forgives Andera because he revealed that she was having affairs with a married policeman i.e Enzo. After hearing so much hatred about her aunt, Giovana still wants to have a meeting with her.
When Giovana met her aunt she heard a completely different story from what she had heard before. Aunt Vittoria inspired her with her love for the man who had transformed her world before his death.
Aunt Vittoria also mentioned that she has been gifted a bracelet when she was newly born, though Goivana has never heard about it. Giovana gets confused about the truth and cannot decide whether to believe her parents or her aunt, whom she met an hour ago.
So Giovana decided to spend more time with her aunt to find out the truth. Giovana told her aunt that her parents hated her so much. They think that Aunt Vittoria is Ugly and mean.
As they have spent more time with each other, Giovana likes her aunt so much that she starts lying to her friends about her kindness. Aunt Giovana motivates her to change and grow up.
And if we never fall and never get hurt we would not be able to grow up. Later on, When she visits Enzo’s gravesite, Aunt Vittoria reveals that she is still friends with Margherita and her children who were the whole world of Enzo’s.
Margherita took pity on Aunt Vittoria with kindness. Eventually, she introduces Giovana to Margherita’s family as well as to the rest of the Trada family that lives in the lower portion of Naples which is also known as the industrial zone where Aunt Vittoria and the rest of the family live.
The Lying Life of Adults Plot
One night at dinner time, Giovana sees Ida and Angel’s father, Mariano touching feet with her mother.
She was so afraid to tell Aunt Vittoria because she knew her aunt would try to ruin the relationship between her parents. When Giovanna introduces Ida and Angela to her aunt, confusion arises.
After this visit, Giovanna’s world in fact comes undone but for a reason other than what she thinks. She learned that her father had been having a 15-year affair with Mariano’s wife, named Costanza.
When meeting Ida and Angela, Aunt Vittoria finds out about the affair, which involves a bracelet that Costanza wears. The bracelet was the same bracelet that Aunt Vittoria left for Giovanna as a present when she was newly born.
As Giovana didn’t know about the bracelet, she lied to defend her parents. Aunt Vittoria immediately picks up on the lie but congratulates Giovanna on her willingness to defend her parents by calling her an intelligent child. She also advises Giovanna to always hold a reasonable amount of fear to live better.
Aunt Vittoria then attacks Giovanna’s parents for various tiny things and feelings. Andrea deceived Aunt Vittoria into leaving it for Giovanna and gave the bracelet to his mistress.
Giovanna’s parents split up two years after Andrea’s affair with Costanza appeared. Andrea and Costanza started living in a beautiful apartment by the sea with Angela and Ida. Andrea still visits Nella and Giovanna, and when he visits them, it seems that Giovanna’s parents might fix things.
But after some time they fight, and Andrea leaves, sometimes for months on end. Despite all the things that are happening in the relationship between Giovana’s parents, she always blames Aunt Vittoria for ruining her parent’s relationship.
When Aunt Vittoria starts phoning again to speak with Giovanna, Giovanna not only pretends to be away but also stops wearing her aunt’s bracelet. Giovana became so stressed and started wearing black, staying in a black room, not studying correctly, and hanging out with rude boys like Corrado and Rosario.
One day, Corrado and Rosario dropped her off at Aunt Vittoria’s house. On the drive, Giovanna felt excited by her power over both boys. At Vittoria’s, Giovanna felt guilty and affectionate for her aunt.
When Aunt saw Giovanna, she hugged Giovanna and requested to talk at the parish. Though she was not interested in talking, Giovanna soon improved when she saw her friend Giuliana’s fiancé, Roberto.
She was sure that she had fallen in love at first sight with Roberto. In order to win Roberto’s attention and affection, Giovanna decided to pursue the Christian faith.
She changed her appearance, devoted herself to her studies again, stopped seeing Rosario and Corrado, and started reading the Gospels. When these endeavors proved insufficient, Giovanna did everything in her power to get closer to Giuliana in order to be a best friend of Roberto. With time, her plan worked