Euan Franklin – Dec 11, 2018
Despite not ending as well as it started, My Brilliant Friend has been a gritty, immersive, and beautiful series that holds the weight of realist cinema on televisual shoulders. Despite not being helmed by a female director, which it probably should’ve been, Saverio Costanzo plunges us into the world of female issues and servitude within the backdrop of 1950s Naples.
The finale, titled The Promise, outweighs episode 7 in terms of conflict – but despite the emotion in the season’s conclusion, it’s rather anticlimactic considering the 8-hour journey up to this point.
Lila (Gaia Girace) is making preparations for her wedding to Stefano (Giovanni Amura). Her family’s shoe shop has grown, and they have more expensive shoes on sale – all designed by Lila. Lenù (Margherita Mazzucco) starts to rebel at school by arguing against a priest and re-fancying Nino Sarratore (Francesco Serpico) despite his father and despite her ‘going steady’ with the mechanic Antonio (Christian Giroso).