My Brilliant Friend is an Italian- and Neapolitan-language drama series adapted from the Neapolitan novel series by Elena Ferrante. This coming-of-age drama series was created by Saverio Costanzo for HBO, RAI, and TIMvision.
The movie is a joint venture between Italian production companies Wildside, Fandango, The Apartment Pictures, Mowe, and international film groups Umedia and Fremantle. The fourth and final season of the series, based on the novel: The Story of the Lost Child, premiered on HBO on September 9, 2024.
My Brilliant Friend opened at the 75th Venice International Film Festival in 2018 with the first two episodes of its first season. The show represents 1970s Naples and the complex relationships between each of the characters.
The characters in the story often find their authenticity threatened by the conservative society of Italy in the 1970s.
Alfonso Carracci (Renato De Simone) is one such character who feels out of place with the societal pressures around him especially regarding his sexual identity ultimately leading to his tragic demise. Here's everything about the character and what happened to him in Season 4.
Alfonso's Journey of Gender Identity in My Brilliant Friend
Alfonso Carracci is Stephano's cousin, who is Lila's husband. He shares a deep friendship with Lila and Elena throughout the series. We even see him coming out to Elena in Episode 6 when he confesses to Elena in the car that he is gay.
Alfonso's queerness is subtly hinted at throughout My Brilliant Friend. His queerness is posed as a threat against the conservative society of Italy, which believes in orthodox norms of hypermasculinity.
In the later episodes of the series, we see Alfonso become isolated because he is unable to express himself fully. The Carracci family is deeply tied to traditional values, which will never accept his queerness.
What tragic fate does Alfonso meet in My Brilliant Friend?
Season 4 of the series made Alfonso realize his gender identity, and we also see him embracing it. He dresses up in a feminine manner and openly explores his feminine identity. His coming out to Elena is also a step forward in accepting who he is.
But this is unacceptable to the rigid society, which thinks that this kind of gender digression is a threat to their patriarchal setup. In Season 4 of My Brilliant Friend, Alfonso's digression comes under the scrutiny of the Solara brothers.
Solara brothers stand in contrast with Alfonso's authenticity as they are violent and associated with organized criminal groups in Italy. Since they feel that Alfonso's queerness is a direct threat to the patriarchy, they plan to kill him.
One of the most tragic incidents in My Brilliant Friend Season 4 is Alfonso's death at the hands of the Solara Brothers, who get him killed in one of their homophobic attacks. Lila and Elena are deeply affected by this incident as they share a deep connection with Alfonso.
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