My Brilliant Friend

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Nov 18, 2018
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 84 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 73 out of 84
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 84
  3. Negative: 6 out of 84
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User Reviews

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  1. rox_roli
    Dec 12, 2018
    10
    the innocence, the rawness, the passion, the despair... everything feels honest and yet marvelous, as if we were watching not a TV series, but a pièce (the debt towards the beloved De Filippo is huge).
    the beauty isn't much in the dialogues (and the voice-over is often irritating, but for a RAI series, hélas, necessary) but in the silences, and the looks of the characters-- in their    the innocence, the rawness, the passion, the despair... everything feels honest and yet marvelous, as if we were watching not a TV series, but a pièce (the debt towards the beloved De Filippo is huge).
    the beauty isn't much in the dialogues (and the voice-over is often irritating, but for a RAI series, hélas, necessary) but in the silences, and the looks of the characters-- in their souls.
    my brilliant friend has some flaws, of course, but it's TV poetry at its best    … Expand
  2. moviebuffers
    Dec 13, 2018
    10
    Superb. Another example of why we are truly in a second golden age of television. The acting is seamless and authentic. The photography and the sets are so realistic you will truly believe you have been transported to post-war era Italy. I hope HBO will continue this series.
  3. Sammyjohnson
    Dec 14, 2018
    10
    Brilliant immersive television. Beautifully shot, scripted, directed and acted - this is exceptional and like nothing else currently on offer.
  4. G_Keeper
    Jan 3, 2019
    9
    A compelling story about friendship, destiny and courage. The young actresses are uniformly outstanding. Max Richter's score is haunting.
  5. LamontRaymond
    Nov 18, 2018
    10
    What an incredible beginning to a series.... it just feels incredibly authentic. It's remarkable that 2 of my 3 or 4 favorite shows are Italian (this and Gomorrah).
  6. Brucey
    Dec 26, 2018
    4
    Halfway through the season. The depiction of small-town Italian life can be fascinating. But series is average. Hype is not justified. Wonder of people sometimes base their reviews on just one episode (the first one). Will certainly revise review if the last half of the season warrants it.
  7. nilsdresemann
    Nov 22, 2018
    10
    Style: 5/5, Music 5/5, Story 5/5, Characters 5/5 Don't shy away from the fact that you have to read subtitles. Engage in listening to Italian spoken with a southern accent. (i don't understand it myself but it sounds beautiful, more beautiful than the Italian i was used to)
  8. hijosdelsiglo20
    Feb 13, 2019
    3
    Honestly, this show is boring, and it becomes worse along the series. What's the point of watching this? Too much hype and poor content.
  9. OlivierPiel
    Nov 30, 2018
    0
    very disappointed. What's all the hype about? I expected a superior refined cinematography, opulent as some of the recent Italian series or at least an intricate character development.
    This is just a very linear story, lined with tropes, passing as realistic art....devoid of any charm and poetry with very simplistic one-sided characters. I can only imagine how distraught the original    very disappointed. What's all the hype about? I expected a superior refined cinematography, opulent as some of the recent Italian series or at least an intricate character development.
    This is just a very linear story, lined with tropes, passing as realistic art....devoid of any charm and poetry with very simplistic one-sided characters. I can only imagine how distraught the original writer must feel of this adaptation.
    If you want Italian realism of the post-world area, better rewatch Rocco and his brothers or any other Visconti or De Sica or Rosselini. There, you can find the poignancy of the Italian working class of the time.
    O tempora, o mores!    … Expand
  10. Soulshocker
    Jan 12, 2019
    8
    The little girls are the real diamonds of this show, they are perfection. That's what true talent and chemistry combined mean. Unfortunately that only lasts for two episodes, as they are replaced by two boring teenagers and the show takes a nosedive. I understand it follows the book and thus not possible, but I wanted a whole series with those two little actresses because it was fantasticThe little girls are the real diamonds of this show, they are perfection. That's what true talent and chemistry combined mean. Unfortunately that only lasts for two episodes, as they are replaced by two boring teenagers and the show takes a nosedive. I understand it follows the book and thus not possible, but I wanted a whole series with those two little actresses because it was fantastic television.… Expand
  11. asmanraj
    Mar 21, 2020
    0
    Disclaimer: I haven't read the novels this show is based on. I wanted to love this show, but i found it dreadfully boring. I watched the entire first season because I hoped it would get better, but it never did. If we're comparing Italian shows, the first season of Gomorrah was far more engaging.
  12. fachrulfebrian
    Dec 20, 2018
    9
    pengambilan gambarnya sungguh mengesankan, dengan akting yang sangat brilliant.

Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best TV Season of 2018
75
#75 Most Discussed TV Season of 2018
5
#5 Most Shared TV Season of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Nov 26, 2018
    90
    With a sensationally authentic cast--this unsentimental story movingly depicts emotional resilience in changing times. [26 Nov - 9 Dec 2018, p.9]
  2. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Nov 19, 2018
    100
    My Brilliant Friend is presented in Italian with subtitles. Don’t let that scare you off. Take the journey. Amid the brutality, an intimacy and honesty unlike any other flourishes.
    Read full review
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    Nov 19, 2018
    70
    It takes awhile to catch fire, and for a viewer even to get his bearings, so numerous are its characters; but it does, and you will.
    Read full review
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