One City, Two Lives: Netflix Plans Global Release Of Italian Drama Set In Naples ( Photo Credit – A Still From The Lying Life of Adults )
Advertisement
The novel ‘The Lying Life of Adults’ by Elena Ferrante has been adapted into a six-episode series. The trailer of the streaming show was unveiled on Tuesday by Netflix, which has set its premiere date as January 4, 2023.
‘Lying Life’, which is directed by Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis, stars Valeria Golino in the role of the crass and enigmatic Neapolitan aunt of the story’s young protagonist, named Giovanna, played by newcomer Giordana Marengo, reported Variety.
Ferrante’s book depicts Giovanna’s transition from childhood to adolescence during the 1990s in Naples which is actually two kindred cities that fear and loathe one another: the upper-crust Naples of the high quarters, hiding behind the mask of refinement, and the Naples of its more vulgar and exciting low quarters, where her intriguing aunt Vittoria lives.
According to Variety, Giovanna vacillates between these two sides of the city, neither one offering answers or escaping. Alessandro Preziosi plays Giovanna’s father, Andrea, while Pina Turco plays her mother, Nella.
Speaking about ‘Lying Life’ at a Netflix slate presentation earlier this year, the streamer’s VP of Italian original series Eleonora Andreatta noted that it has very different characteristics compared to ‘My Brilliant Friend’, beginning with the 1990s, the time period in which ‘Lying Life’ is set.
Andreatta also underlined that De Angelis, who made an international splash in 2016 with ‘Invisible’, a drama about Neapolitan teenage conjoined twin sisters, has put his distinctively dreamy but grotesque stamp on the show.
De Angelis has co-written the show with Laura Paolucci and Francesco Piccolo – both of whom penned ‘My Brilliant Friend’ – as well as Ferrante herself. The new Ferrante adaptation is being produced for Netflix by Domenico Procacci’s Fandango.
For those who are unaware, Elena Ferrante is a noted Italian novelist whose works have been translated into many languages over the years. Her Neapolitan Novels are quite famous among readers, some of which include My Brilliant Friend (2011), The Story of a New Name (2012), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2013), The Story of the Lost Child (2014), etc.
