MY BRILLIANT FRIEND From Naples with love Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher reveal the secrets of the final season of this popular series and how they feel as best friends whose characters were wonderfully written by Elena Ferrante W e watched the start of the fourth and fi- nal season of the HBO series My Bril- liant Friend, which
na uloga donosi novu dimenziju i dubinu ovom kompleksnom liku. – Tokom skoro četiri godine pozajmljivala sam glas Eleni i za- hvaljujući tome, stekla sam dubo- ko razumevanje njenog karakte- ra. Sarađivala sam sa glumicama koje su je tumačile kao dete i ti- nejdžerku. Preuzimanje uloge bilo je prirodno, jer sam pratila njen razvoj kroz prvu sezonu serije i svedočila njenom prelasku iz ti- nejdžerke u mladu ženu. S druge strane, i Lila je izu- zetna figura u seriji – pametna, strastvena i čvrsta u stavovima. Majorinina interpretacija zrelog lika otkriva duboku unutrašnju snagu i složenost njenog karak- tera. Prikazujući njen stalni trud da pronađe svoje mesto u svetu, Majorino joj donosi emotivnu i autentičnu dimenziju. Serija je snimana u Napulju, jednom od najživopisnijih i kul- turno najbogatijih gradova Ita- lije, smeštenom na obali Tiren- skog mora, u podnožju vulkana Vezuva, a Irene, baš poput Lile, ima svoje korene u ovom gradu. – Rasti u mestu koje ima mo- re i vulkan u blizini stvara neve- rovatnu energiju. Mnogi Napoli- tanci, kao i članovi moje porodice, predstavljaju za mene pravi pri- mer snage i lojalnosti – kvaliteta koji su specifični za Napulj. Tako- đe, njihova sposobnost da se sna- đu je uočljiva i kod Lile. Možda ne sa onim vedrim duhom koji obič- no povezujemo sa Napuljem, ali svakako predstavlja snagu koja je prisutna kod nje. Upravo zbog to- ga sam ogroman fan stila pisanja Elene Ferante, jer je ona u stanju da se poveže sa zemljom, ne samo u smislu tradicionalne ili klasične slike koju povezujemo sa Napu- ljem već sa samom snagom priro- de – zaključuje Majorino.
Alba has been present throughout the series from the very start – initially as a narrator, but now as the adult Ele- na. Her role brings a new dimension and depth to this complex character. “I provided the voice for Elena dur- ing almost four years, gaining a deep un- derstanding of her character thanks to that. I collaborated with the actresses who portrayed her as a child and a teenager. It was natural for me to take on this role, as I’d followed her development through the first season of the series and wit- nessed her transition from a teenager to a young woman.” On the flip side, Lila is also an excep- tional figure in the series – intelligent, passionate and firm in her views. Irene’s interpretation of the mature character reveals her deep inner strength and com- plexity. By showing her constant strug- gle to find her own place in the world, Irene brings an emotional and authen- tic dimension to the character. The series was shot in Naples, one of Italy’s most stunningly picturesque and culturally rich cities, located on the Medi- terranean coast, at the foot of Mount Ve- suvius volcano, and, just like Lila, Irene’s own roots are in this city. “Growing up in a place that has the sea and a volcano nearby creates incred- ible energy. To me, many Neapolitans, including members of my own family, represent true examples of strength and loyalty – qualities that are specific to Na- ples. Their ability to handle life is also no- ticeable, including with Lila. Perhaps not with that kind of cheerful spirit that we ordinarily associate with Naples, but it certainly represents the strength that’s present within her. That’s precisely why I’m a huge fan of Elena Ferrante’s writing style, because she’s able to connect with the land – not only in the sense of the tra- ditional or classical image that we asso- ciate with Naples, but also with the very power of nature,” concludes Maiorino.
launched on the Max streaming plat- form in mid-September. Adapted from Elena Ferrante’s bestselling novels, the story follows Elena Greco and her most important friend in life, Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo. They meet as children living in 1950s Naples, while their story extends over more than six decades. The fourth part of the saga, entitled “The Story of the Lost Child”, looks back at Elena and Lila’s maturer years. Entangled in the whirlwind of changes that Italy faced in the late 1980s, the friends find them- selves back in the same neighbourhood, confronted by the challenges of moth- erhood and careers, betrayals, threats, disappearances and natural disasters. Actresses Irene Maiorino (Lila) and Alba Rohrwacher (Elena) have both shared their emotional experience of working on this project, revealing how the characters they portray became wo- ven into their own lives. Alba, who plays the character of Elena, emphasises how she found this project deeply emotive... “Elena is a really complex charac- ter, and I think viewers have been able, through all these seasons, to observe her struggle while she searched for herself, simultaneously trying to stay beside Li- la in order for their friendship to sur- vive,” says Alba. Irene Maiorino, who plays Lila, stresses that this final season was par- ticularly challenging for her character, but also for her as an actress. “Lila was always a layered and in- tense character. Her strength and stub- bornness, but also her vulnerability, come to the fore in a special way during this season. It was hard to say goodbye, but I believe viewers will be satisfied with the way the story concludes.”
Tekst / Words: Ana Lađarević Fotografije / Photography: HBO
Series » Serije | 43
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator