The Lying Life of Adults (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

1
A NETFLIX SERIES
["Nun Te Scurdà" by Almamegretta]
BASED ON THE NOVEL OF THE SAME NAME
BY ELENA FERRANTE
["Nun Te Scurdà"
continues through speakers]
[woman] Before leaving home,
my father told my mother that I was ugly.
CHAPTER 1
BEAUTY
He didn't say it directly.
He used a metaphor.
He spoke in a low voice,
but I still heard him.
[song continues playing outside]
All right, then. [sighs]
Where do we even start?
Italian. Hmm
[mother] Italian? She got a D.
Physical education, she won't do it.
[father] Greek?
[mother] Unbelievable. She got an E+.
[father] Hmm. And geography?
[mother] Geography? Shameful.
Who's doing geography anymore?
She's haughty and arrogant.
Oh, but the true masterpiece?
Mathematics. She got an F.
- [father] Can you get less than that?
- Yeah.
Is that possible? An F's not a grade.
That's just being cruel.
[mother] Andrè, she's in trouble.
She won't do anything to improve.
If she continues like this, she'll fail.
[Andrè] I understand.
[mother] She has to roll up her sleeves.
I'll hammer it into her head. You'll see.
[Andrè] No, that's not the issue.
- [mother] What is it, adolescence?
- [Andrè] It's not adolescence.
I've already figured it out.
She's starting to look
just like my sister.
[mother] You mean Vittoria?
[Andrè] Yeah.
Just like her, a spitting image.
Don't say that. She's a monster.
- [Andrè] Nella.
- [Nella] What?
[Andrè] She's her spitting image.
[Nella] Oh my God. I really hope not.
[woman] One word of disapproval
from my father had always made me cry.
He had always told me
that I was beautiful.
What did he see in my face now
that I couldn't see?
What was happening to me?
[electronic music playing]
Since then, everything has stood still.
[vocalizing]
[crash]
[woman] Naples.
The cold of February.
My mother
and those words too.
[female voice in Italian, echoing]
When you're little, everything seems big.
When you're grown-up,
everything seems small.
[woman] But not for me.
I found myself caught
in a story that wasn't mine.
A story that never really started
and one no one ever bothered
to put an end to.
[electronic music continues]
And I found myself slipping
into this strange pain.
Without redemption.
[doorbell rings]
- [Nella] Oh, hi there.
- [guest 1] Hello!
- [guest 2] Hi!
- [Nella] You both look gorgeous!
Thank you.
- [Andrè] Good evening, Professor.
- Good evening, my ass.
- Here.
- Mariano, I miss you.
Come on.
What's wrong with this girl?
She's so grim.
- I'm not grim.
- Listen, "grim" isn't an insult.
It's a manifestation of a state of mind.
Don't get upset. Damn.
- Ugh, Mariano, you just walked in.
- [scoffs]
It just means you look upset.
Let's go somewhere else.
- [Mariano] They're going for a smoke.
- [Andrè] No way.
- They're going for a smoke, I know it.
- [Andrè] No they aren't. Hey, no smoking!
The guy from the finance department
has been trying to contact me.
- [Mariano] Oh?
- [Andrè] And do you know why?
[Mariano] Tell me.
[Andrè] He was vouching
for the Naples Bank guy.
[Mariano laughs]
[female voice in Italian, echoing]
Each to their own.
Nobody knows.
This morning, I saw some boys
breakdancing over there.
- Really?
- On those.
- Yeah.
- Well, what did they look like?
I like the way they dance.
I'm not interested in boys.
Are those new?
- The shoes?
- Mm-hm.
No.
- Why?
- I don't remember seeing them.
[dog barks]
Is there something wrong with me?
[girl] No, why?
I don't know. If you just noticed
a pair of shoes I've had for ages,
it means there's something wrong.
Giovà, you're just being paranoid.
Why do you still listen
to my asshole father?
When he speaks, turn down the volume.
That's what we always do.
Will you take a look at me for a second?
Do you think I look weird?
Am I getting ugly?
Just tell me the truth.
Maybe a little bit. But not physically.
[girl] No, physically, you're beautiful.
It's it's just that, um maybe you get
a bit uglier because of your worries.
But nothing else.
Girls!
[Giovà] Angela and Ida
were like first cousins to me.
- We had the same left-wing upbringing.
- Girls, hurry!
All books and critical thinking.
- What took so long?
- I was a great reader.
Ida was a great writer,
and Angela was a funny chatterbox
whom I was very fond of.
[Mariano] Did you know
Professor Galway and Professor Dealer
from Harvard University
have published a study where
they showed actual scientific evidence
that our eminent prime minister
is actually a piece of dog shit
wrapped in a leaf.
- [sighs]
- [Nella] Oh, how nice.
Well, there you go.
Now that we've said our prayers,
let's have dinner.
[Giovà] Our life still revolved
entirely around Vomero.
We really knew nothing about the city.
Every detour tempted us
and seemed exciting.
- [clattering]
- [all gasp]
- Oh my God, what did I do?
- [girls giggling]
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm I'm fine.
[girls laughing]
[Andrè clears throat]
Hmm.
Keep eating, keep eating.
[chuckles]
[female voice in Italian, echoing]
When you're little, everything seems big.
When you're grown-up,
everything seems small.
Each to their own.
[sighs]
[Nella] Hey. What's wrong?
My stomach hurts.
- [Nella] Is it your period?
- It's probably coming.
[Nella] There's some medicine
in the cabinet.
[Andrè] Are you two finished?
[yawning]
- [Nella] Do you want the hot-water bottle?
- No.
Go back to bed for a while, okay?
[puts cassette in player]
[presses button]
["Cildren ov Babilon" by Bisca playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[Giovà] Apparently, Aunt Vittoria's face
disgusted my father so much
that he scraped the face
off every single photo of her.
What are you doing?
[laughs]
Are you dressing up for a carnival?
We can make it better.
Will you show me how
to put your makeup on?
No one makeup can suit everyone.
Each face is a little different.
["Cildren ov Babilon" continues playing]
Come here.
[chuckles]
Come here.
Let's try with this.
[blows]
Close.
Just like that.
Your touch has to be
as light as a feather.
Then spread it with your finger.
Then on the sides,
keep blending as far as you can.
Never overdo it.
Every mark makes
you look slightly different.
Then you stop.
And then you look.
[chuckles]
[Nella laughs]
And now you're ready.
I'm off.
I have that conference about Luther.
On a Sunday?
You two are so pretty.
I'm so damn lucky.
Bye.
What a clown.
[door closes]
Why are you looking
at all these family photos?
Dad keeps talking shit.
He says I'm not pretty.
That I'm starting to look like Vittoria,
who is a monster.
And you were looking for a picture of her?
Tell me what she looks like.
It's not just her looks.
I remember, when she was around,
I felt uncomfortable,
like I had a lizard on my leg.
[laughs]
You have nothing in common with her.
For us, "Aunt Vittoria" is just a joke.
Sometimes,
when your father is being annoying,
I'll tell him, "Andrè, be careful.
You're looking like Vittoria."
Is she that bad?
[Nella] She's a resentful woman.
More than anything, she can't handle
your father's achievements.
- Like what?
- [chuckles]
Your Aunt Vittoria
takes everything and everyone
as some sort of attack
against her personally.
But what bothers her the most
is your dad's existence.
And to think that he saved her.
- From what?
- [sighs]
Oh, never mind. Just forget it.
Maybe she didn't want to be saved.
Maybe Dad should mind his own business.
No one should mind their business
when someone is in trouble.
Anyway, she paid him back
by being as mean as possible.
Can't they just make peace?
To make peace, for Vittoria, your father
would have to become an ordinary man.
Like everyone else she knows.
And since this can't happen,
she has turned
the whole family against him.
You haven't seen her for so many years.
But when you were a kid, we used
to go over to see them sometimes.
You remember?
No, I don't remember.
Yeah, that was a long time ago.
- What work does she do?
- She's somebody's servant.
And she blames your dad for that as well.
[sighs]
- Why ask?
- I wanna see what she looks like.
I have to see her.
Oh.
All right, then.
- [Nella] Do you know Via Miraglia?
- No.
[Nella] Via Stradera?
No.
Poggioreale. [sighs]
Piazza Nazionale, right here.
The Arenaccia, It's industrial.
- You know Pianto, don't you?
- No.
- You don't know the Pianto?
- No.
Then you must study.
Here's the street map of your city.
After you study and you feel ready,
you tell your dad.
Then you should go see your aunt
on your own.
Take it.
MONUMENTAL CEMETERY
NEW CEMETERY
CEMETERY OF COMPASSION
["Better Things" by Massive Attack]
[Giovà] All those unknown street names
my mom had told me about
were still on my mind.
The Pianto in particular.
It must have been a place of sadness,
where people were suffering.
Or maybe it made you suffer.
That's where my aunt lived.
Don't drag me down ♪
Just because you're down ♪
And just 'cause you're blue ♪
Don't make me too ♪
And though you've found ♪
You need more than me ♪
Don't talk to me ♪
About being free ♪
That's freedom ♪
- Without love ♪
- [ringing tone]
And magic ♪
[woman] Hello?
Without love ♪
Magic without love ♪
- Hi, Nello.
- [Giovà] Hi, Dad.
Hey.
Hear me say ♪
- Better things will surely ♪
- What are you doing?
Nothing.
- Where's Mom?
- In her bedroom.
How's your homework?
It's coming along.
Aah.
- Is there anything you don't understand?
- [Giovà] No, nothing.
- Anything you want me to clarify?
- No.
Don't leave this around.
[continues talking indistinctly]
[Nella talking indistinctly]
[Andrè talking indistinctly]
[parents continue talking]
You say the magic's gone
Well, I'm not ♪
Giovà, you have nothing
in common with my sister.
You said I do.
Just remember this.
She enjoys causing me pain.
She'll use you to hurt me.
She'll try to deprive me of your love,
and for me, that's unbearable.
Hm?
[sighs] Come here.
Now, when you see her,
be like Ulysses and the Sirens.
Put wax in your ears
and don't listen to her.
So you're taking me there?
Yes.
Without love ♪
[Andrè sighs]
Hear me say ♪
What's wrong?
Nothing. You smell funny.
Hmm. Understand me?
- Yes.
- Good.
Good girl.
Better things will surely come our way ♪
[Giovà] I didn't understand anything.
[motorcycle engine revving]
[man] Hey, girls. Where you going?
- The school's been occupied.
- Really? Who's occupied it?
[man] Peppe O Dragone and his mates.
- Yeah, right, Peppe O Dragone.
- [laughs] Yeah, we're all good then.
[man] I'm going to Officina.
There's a concert.
Wanna come with me?
Hop on.
[intriguing music playing]
[band playing in distance]
Okay.
Follow me.
Hey, man, give me a dime. Black hash.
[boy laughing]stabbed and shot!
[band playing]
[in Italian] Saint Anthony ♪
Is the enemy of the devil ♪
Saint Anthony ♪
Is the enemy of the devil ♪
Saint Anthony ♪
Is the enemy of the devil ♪
[crowd sings along] Saint Anthony ♪
Is the enemy of the devil ♪
Saint Anthony ♪
Is the enemy of the devil ♪
Saint Anthony ♪
Is the enemy of the devil ♪
The fascists and the police
Are the devil ♪
Saint Anthony, come here ♪
And take them all away ♪
Saint Anthony, come here
And take them all away ♪
You have to, you have to ♪
You have to burn it all ♪
You have to, you have to
You have to burn it all ♪
You have to burn it all ♪
You have to, you have to
You have to burn it all ♪
You have to, you have to ♪
Take a hit.
You have to burn it all ♪
- You have to burn it all ♪
- [coughing]
Hmm.
In this city, full of problems ♪
In Italy, where everyone is stupid ♪
Giovà, we are in trouble.
We don't smoke joints,
we don't give blow jobs.
We don't even play the guitar.
The guitar, that's a big deal.
You have to, you have to
You have to burn it all ♪
The future is coming
Fascists and entrepreneurs ♪
The closer they get
The more they look like oppressors ♪
People who sell themselves
For a plate of pasta ♪
You have to ignite a flame
That makes the lords shake ♪
You have to, you have to ♪
You have to burn it all ♪
You have to, you have to
You have to burn it all ♪
You have to burn it all ♪
Grief and blood and bitter tears ♪
Grief and blood ♪
Who's this stuck-up bitch?
You know that with the money
you spend on clothes,
a worker could live for a year?
So tell me, is it better for workers
to dress their asses in rags like you?
- Watch it, fascist. You don't want me mad.
- Who's a fascist?
I've read the whole Communist Manifesto.
What have you read besides
the instructions on a syringe?
Who let you in anyway, you shitty fascist?
Back up!
- [gasps]
- Oh!
- Whoa!
- Whoa, what the fuck?
- What the fuck are you doing?
- Hey, bitch!
You have to burn it all ♪
["O Sfruttament"
by Bisca Feat. 99 Posse playing]
Press it against your eye,
or it'll swell up.
Thanks.
[winces]
Does it hurt?
- And you?
- Mm.
I need to go there.
- What for?
- I'm meeting someone.
I'll explain later.
I wanna know everything.
Be careful.
["O Sfruttament" continues playing]
[Andrè] Hello. Good morning.
Hold on.
[engine starts]
[Andrè sighs]
- Does it still hurt?
- Yes.
[Andrè] Okay, I tell you what. Hm?
You give me your eye, I'll get it fixed up
and bring it back to you brand-new.
- Hm?
- Okay.
[Andrè chuckles]
Oh, by the way,
I wanted to ask you something.
I've been thinking about
this since this morning.
Who is the most beautiful little girl
in Naples?
- I don't know.
- [Andrè] Come on!
Try to remember. Who is she?
[sighs] Me?
Well-done. [mimics buzzer]
- Your answer is correct!
- [laughs] I thought so.
[Andrè] Do you remember
the song we sang at the rallies?
[in Neapolitan] Who told you
That I have to leave you? I'd rather ♪
Now second gear.
die than feel this pain ♪
And third gear.
[vocalizing]
- [Giovà] Have I shifted?
- You got it.
I am dying, dying, dying ♪
Come on, sing!
Breath of my heart ♪
- You are my love ♪
- My love ♪
[Giovà chuckles]
[Andrè vocalizing]
I'm dying, dying, dying
Breath of my heart ♪
[pensive music playing]
I'm dying, dying, dying ♪
Breath of my heart ♪
[both] You are my love ♪
- [Andrè] Good girl.
- [laughs]
Was it here?
No, wait, I went the wrong way.
See what it's like here?
This is where I was born and raised.
This was my home.
[burst of music plays]
This is where Vittoria is still living.
Go on. I'll wait here.
[wrapper rustling]
Want some crackers?
Here.
What's up?
Don't go anywhere, okay?
[Andrè] Go on, go. I won't move a muscle.
What if she holds me up?
When you get tired, tell her, you know,
"I'm sorry, I have to go. See you later."
What if she won't let me go?
All right. One hour tops,
I'll come and rescue you.
No. You stay here.
I'll come back on my own.
[pensive music continues playing]
[yelps] For fuck's sake!
Oh my God!
Oh! She doesn't seem to get it!
You have to suffer a little
if you wanna look good, right?
- Right, exactly.
- Yeah!
She's pretty.
[woman] She looks like a little doll.
Excuse me. Trada?
Right there, the door over there.
First floor.
Go on, honey, she's waiting for you.
[man] Let's go.
[woman 2] What are they doing with my TV?
[woman 2] Hey, what the hell!? Calm down.
- I'm coming.
- [footsteps approaching]
What is it? Are you okay? You gotta pee?
No.
Then what is it?
Why are you breaking my door down?
Aunt, I'm Giovanna.
I know who you are.
But if you call me "Aunt" again,
you better turn around and leave.
Mmm.
Hey, sir. Could you buy me a coffee?
[Andrè] What? Get outta here.
Oh, wow. No manners.
- Goodbye, prick.
- [Andrè] Go away.
- [man 2] Yeah, screw you.
- Bye. Bye.
[solemn music playing]
[engine starts]
[Andrè clears throat] So, how did it go?
Good.
[Andrè] That's it? Come on, tell me.
Well, she offered me some orange juice,
but it was full of seeds.
- So I spat them out.
- Mmm.
And then she wanted to know
if I had friends,
so I told her about Angela.
[Andrè] I see.
- She ask about me?
- No.
- Never?
- Never, no.
- What about Mom?
- No, she didn't.
- That music, what was it?
- What music?
Well, at some point, I heard
some very loud music coming from up there.
No, I didn't hear it.
[Andrè] Well, was she kind?
Mostly.
[Andrè] Did she say anything mean?
She's a bit unpleasant.
Well, what did I tell you about her?
[sniffs]
Have you satisfied your curiosity now?
Now do you realize she's nothing like you?
- Yes.
- [Andrè] Good.
Give me a kiss.
Do you forgive me?
I forgive you.
[laughing] No!
No, your beard scratches my cheek.
Oh yeah? Your aunt must scratch
even worse with that mustache of hers.
[Giovà] She doesn't have a mustache.
- Yeah, she does.
- [Giovà] No!
[Andrè] Okay, fine, she doesn't.
I mean, God forbid you wanted to go back
to see whether
she actually has one or not.
I don't wanna see her anymore.
Okay.
- [Giovà] Aunt, I'm Giovanna.
- [Vittoria] I know who you are.
But if you call me "Aunt" again,
you better turn around and leave.
What's that?
- Does it hurt?
- No.
You want a fresh orange juice?
No, I don't wanna bother you.
Yes or no?
- Come on.
- Okay, yeah.
Mm. Here.
Mm.
Mm-mm-mm!
Be careful. It's broken. Sit over here.
Take off that jacket.
What's the problem? Where's the fire?
- Here.
- [Giovà] Is that for me?
No. Your sister.
Giannì.
Don't you
Why didn't you wear your bracelet?
[Giovà] What bracelet?
The one I gave you when you were born.
I guess my mom made me
wear it when I was little.
Until I turned one or two,
and then it didn't fit anymore.
[chuckles] You're very clever, Giannì.
That's the truth.
Are you afraid of me?
Yes.
Well, that's good.
Fear keeps you vigilant.
It didn't take you long to find an excuse
to save your dad's ass.
Brava, Giannì.
But now, you haven't saved your own.
I didn't give you a bracelet
that was meant for a child
but for an adult.
An important bracelet.
Mmm!
Go ahead.
It's healthy.
I'm not like your father.
He's so attached to money
and material things.
I don't give a shit about objects.
I only care about people.
I used to own one thing, only one thing.
That bracelet.
And when you were born, I had a thought,
"When she's a young woman,
an adult, she can wear it."
I even wrote that on the card I gave you.
What card?
A card that I carefully put
inside of the mailbox,
together with the bracelet.
"Give it to her when she grows up."
- [sighs]
- Maybe you shouldn't have left it there.
- Thieves probably came and stole it.
- What thieves?
What the hell are you even saying?
Just drink your juice.
Your mother wouldn't even know
how to make you one.
Light, you damn thing!
Damn it. Light!
[groans]
[Vittoria] And light. Good, good
Listen, I had to put it in the mailbox
because if I had walked up,
your father would have
kicked me out for sure.
My father would never kick anybody out.
Your father is an asshole.
He thinks he knows absolutely everything.
He stays safe in his own little world.
And if you tell him that he's wrong,
he'll erase you!
He erased me.
Even Enzo.
My Enzo too.
Your father will erase everyone
who's better than him.
He's always been like that, you see.
Even when he was a kid.
He thinks he's so intelligent,
but he's never been intelligent.
He's a motherfucker,
and he'll do everything in his power
to make you believe
you can't live without him.
When we were kids,
every time he left, I felt like
they had taken the sun from me.
And I thought, "I'm gonna die."
So I would do everything he wanted.
He made the rules.
"You can do this, but you can't do that."
[sighs]
He even had me believe
that God didn't exist.
He went that far.
But I changed my mind right away.
As soon as I met my Enzo.
[tuts] Son of a bitch!
For your dad,
you only have a right to be in this world
if you hold a book in your hands.
[sighs]
[sighs]
That bastard.
That piece of shit.
That dog!
With my Enzo,
first he convinced him they were friends.
But then he stole his soul.
He tore him to pieces.
[sighs]
["Non, je ne regrette rien" by Édith Piaf]
[humming along]
Giannì! Come on.
Giannì!
Are you sleeping?
Come on!
I want that dog to hear this.
So that he can remember!
The very first time I met my Enzo,
we were at a dance party.
And we danced together like this,
to this song right here.
[Giovà] Was it a long time ago?
[Vittoria] It feels like yesterday.
- [Giovà] And where is Enzo now?
- Giannì, you're not growing up right.
You believe more in lies
than in the truth.
Hm? [chuckles]
I bet you don't even know how to dance.
- I know how to breakdance.
- [laughs] Breakdance! Oh!
[laughs]
["Non, je ne regrette rien"
continues playing]
Mm!
Give me your hand.
One. Two.
- Mm! Follow me.
- [chuckles]
[humming]
["Non, je ne regrette rien"
continues playing]
Move those hips!
Move!
["Non, je ne regrette rien"
continues playing]
What's wrong?
Well, I'd really like to meet Enzo now.
- Seriously?
- Yes.
All right, then.
One of these days we can go see him.
Mm. Where is he?
He's in the cemetery.
Oh.
["Non, je ne regrette rien"
continues playing]
[electronic music playing]
[female voice in Italian, echoing]
When you're little, everything seems big.
When you're grown-up,
everything seems small.
Each to their own.
Each to their own.
Nobody knows.
Each to their own.
Nobody knows.
When you're little, everything seems big.
When you're grown-up,
everything seems small.
Each to their own.
Nobody knows.
Nobody knows.
Each to their own.
Nobody knows.
Each to their own.
Nobody knows.