The coming-of-age tale of a little girl named Giovanna is told in “The Lying Life of Adults” on Netflix. When things start to significantly alter in her life, the program picks up at a pivotal moment. Her parents’ construct of the world around her begins to crumble as she meets new people and has her views tested. She discovers that everyone can teach her something new and that sometimes she knows more than grownups. She ultimately takes a decision that alters her life forever. The meaning is as follows. Spoilers follow.
The Lying Life of Adults Plot Synopsis
Giovanna has been performing poorly in school, and her father is concerned that she is beginning to resemble Vittoria, her aunt. Giovanna is aware that Vittoria’s family does not think highly of her, and that they are so far from her that Vittoria’s face has been scraped off of every photograph. She becomes curious about this and, against the advice of her parents, chooses to meet Vittoria. Her story then takes a dramatic turn as she soon realizes that Vittoria and her parents exist in totally different worlds.
We follow Giovanna and her troubled connection with her parents, who both perform dishonorably in her view. The program also focuses on Giovanna’s relationship with sisters Angela and Ida, with whom she grew up and has a close relationship. When the affair between Giovanna’s father and their mother is revealed, things between them become a little messy. Additionally, Roberto is a young man Giovanna finds herself drawn to, but the fact that he is already in a relationship with someone else makes things difficult.
The Lying Life of Adults: Why does Giovanna Leave the Bracelet at Rosario’s Place?
As we examine Giovanna’s story in “The Lying Life of Adults,” many things come and go. The bracelet that she was reported to have received from Vittoria when she was a youngster plays a crucial role in all of this. The first time it is mentioned is by Vittoria when she says she mailed it to her parents with the instruction that Giovanna should receive it when she is older. Even while her father claims that Vittoria never sent any bracelet, it later becomes clear that he actually gave it to Costanza.
The discovery of Andrea’s affair completely changes the lives of Giovanna and her mother Nella. Giovanna is given the bracelet by Costanza, but the young woman finds it difficult to grow connected to something that was worn for so long by her father’s mistress. She nevertheless preserves it because she was originally supposed to be the recipient. Later, she learns that Giuliana’s grandmother was the original owner of the bracelet. It was taken by her father, Enzo, who then gave Vittoria’s mother the item as a gift. Then it was given to Vittoria, who kept it dear to her heart as a memento of Enzo’s affection for her.
The bracelet first represented for Giuliana a link to her family’s past. She received it as an heirloom from her aunt, a relationship she never got the chance to explore. Similar to the concept of freedom, which is further addressed in the novel, it was something she was supposed to have but was denied. But when she begins to remove the numerous layers covering this particular object, she discovers that, like everything else, the narrative created around it is a fabrication, a lie.
As a lie, the bracelet was given to Giovanna’s family. Vittoria contributed to it further by giving it a purpose in the shape of Enzo’s memories. She admitted to Giovanna that she had sex and loved only Enzo. Giovanna learns later, though, that her aunt had lied about the sex aspect. The bracelet’s significance is further diminished when it is used to represent her father’s extramarital relationship. He gave the bracelet to the woman he was having an affair with even though he was already married and had a family. The bracelet was significant to him because it belonged to his mother.
While Giovanna had initially associated the bracelet with something nice and priceless, it later came to represent all the lies that the grownups in her life had created and spread. When Giovanna learns that Vittoria is leaving the family home and relocating to the affluent area to work for a wealthy woman, the significance of the bracelet is further decreased.
Giovanna had the feeling that Vittoria was above the bourgeois lifestyle that her father had spent his entire life pursuing when she first saw her aunt. Giovanna’s choices, decisions, and even her relationship with her parents were all influenced by Vittoria’s worldview, which she instilled in her young niece. But in the end, it transpires that Vittoria’s teachings to Giovanna were also a deception. When the time was right, Vittoria let go of her convictions very readily, which persuades Giovanna that all grownups are living some sort of lie.
Giovanna has a bedtime with Rosario as a show of rebellion. She was aware of Vittoria’s strong distaste for him and the reaction her parents would have to her behavior. But for her, their opinion no longer matters or is something she values. She leaves the bracelet at his house in an effort to express this feeling. This action proves that she is now prepared to cut off all contact with adults and live her life as she sees fit.
Why do Giovanna and Ida Run Away?
Giovanna and Ida are shown collecting their belongings and leaving town on a bus in the show’s concluding shot, prepared to start a new chapter in their lives. This seems like the logical next step for Giovanna, especially in light of the fact that she has been let down by every single adult in her life. The ideal environment in which she had grown up was shattered when she met Vittoria because she realized how deceitful and hypocritical her parents and those like them had been. She then realizes that Vittoria and other people are also deluding themselves.
Roberto had a special impact on Giovanna because he made her feel seen. She fell head over heels for him, and it wasn’t just because of the way he spoke to her or looked at her. Additionally, it was his ideology and how vehemently he appeared to support it. But by the end, Giovanna understands that he is also creating a front for himself. On the outside, he may appear to be flawless and well-organized, but on the inside, he is just like any other adult.
We learn that Ida has experienced a similar journey in her final monologue. She felt unloved, much like Giovanna, especially when she and Angela made her feel excluded. Her parents’ divorce following her mother’s affair paralleled the circumstance in Giovanna’s home, putting both of them in a similar frame of mind. Ida, like Giovanna, feels let down by the adults in her life and doesn’t want to live in the shadow of their hopes and expectations any more. She wants to forge her own path rather than follow the one others have already established.
The storylines of Giovanna and Ida also coincide with their sex scenes. Both of them investigate it as a way to rebel against their parents and engage in behavior with the males that would be viewed negatively by the adults in their immediate environment. Both of them treat their first encounter as a chore that must be completed in order to become maturity and leave behind their childhood years, making it unpleasant for them both. It is merely a formality before they may begin the adventure of their new lives; it is a rite of passage.
It makes fitting that the two of them would end up escaping together given the many parallels in their stories. They now want to see the world beyond their small village without parental supervision or influence because they have seen how limiting it is there. By doing this, they are taking charge of their life and letting go of the lies that have ruled them in the past.
