My Brilliant Friend

I thoroughly enjoyed this first series of MY BRILLIANT FRIEND. The casting was a little awkward, matching up the young then the teenage actors, but the performances soon swept you along. (My only advice is keep track of the family units.) Complex story telling. Informative look at the working poor in the 50s and 60s post-war Italy. Some twists you don't expect, but an intimate look at friendship. Can't wait for series two next fall (possibility of 4 series that will follow the quintet of books). I give this first series an 8 (great) out of 10. [Drama]

The way this show's been made so far, from a cinematic point of view, is incredible. Some of the most inspired directional choices I've seen on tv lately, made even more interesting by the direct reference to the books and the way the show has excelled in the "show, don't tell" rule, even though it is based on a very introspective source material. They balanced Lenú's narration with simply showing us what she's thinking through visual cues, metaphors, camera angles, focus techniques, etc. It's excellent and super exciting to watch as a huge fan of the novels. The acting is phenomenal (I never even found any interest in Stefano in the books but what the actor did with the character here made him one of the most interesting ones to watch). Book two was my favourite in the series and season two was my favourite of the two so far as well. Let's see how season 3 fares with a more adult and political story to go off of.