A NETFLIX SERIES
- What are you doing here? - What happened with you and Margherita?
She told me that you think I'm a very talented writer.
That's the only reason you came here?
I need to understand, Sofia.
I didn't tell her anything.
Why are you leaving?
I have no reason to stay.
This is where your dreams are.
Exactly. They're just dreams.
Don't leave.
Listen, Carlo, everyone's been staring at me at university,
your wife just followed me so she can interrogate me,
and you haven't talked to me since then.
You won't even look at me, dammit!
I know, I know. Goddamnit, I know!
It's not easy for me either.
Let's just start from scratch. Okay?
I swear I'll make sure that...
that... that you're never... you're never put in a situation like that again.
Come on. Get off the train.
Hey.
- I said "hey." - Yeah. I heard you.
What's wrong?
What'd you do today?
The usual.
Really?
- Mm-hmm. - "The usual."
That's how little you trust me. Hmm?
Can't believe it.
- What do you mean? - You know.
No. I don't know. You tell me.
How could you possibly think it's a good idea
to do psychological terrorism on a 20-year-old girl?
So she told you right away, huh?
That poor kid.
I'm guessing you comforted her. Right?
Why'd you go and see her, Marghe?
You talk to her so much, I wanted to catch up.
You know, she's quitting.
I suppose you're happy now. It all worked out.
- So it's my fault she's leaving? - That's not the point, Marghe.
- Oh, really? What is the point? - You don't trust me anymore!
- Should I? - Yeah. You should.
Because if you did, that would make things much better for both of us.
I needed to look her in the eyes today.
And what did you see in her eyes?
No. Come on. Tell me.
Don't run away. We're talking. Stay here.
What did you see in her eyes? You were really inappropriate!
- "Inappropriate"? - Yeah!
- I was inappropriate? - Yeah!
Carlo, you're the inappropriate one.
You and your one-on-one individual lessons,
or whatever they're called, with 20-year-old girls!
Can you hear yourself right now? Huh?
Now you're even jealous of my work?
Do you really think I'd take advantage of my position to come on to my students?
- Is that what you... Where are you going? - How's your novel going?
- Why does that matter now? - Oh, nothing.
I was just wondering if you told her that you've been blocked for years.
What happened to you? I don't recognize you anymore.
I pity you.
♪ Your hand on his arm ♪
♪ Hay stack charm around your neck ♪
♪ Strung out and thin ♪
♪ Calling some friend Trying to cash some check ♪
♪ He's acting dumb ♪
♪ That's what you've come to expect ♪
♪ Needle in the hay ♪
Hi, Mom.
So all this stuff was at Dad's place? Really?
Uh, yeah.
I'd love it if you could help me out.
There's some boxes of your stuff too.
They've got your name on them. Take a look.
Maybe there's something you wanna hold on to.
Sure. I'll take them away and make you some space.
Plus, it's good to have some stuff that reminds me of Dad.
This leg's driving me crazy.
Are you gonna tell me what happened?
- Huh? Why did you and Carlo fight? - Jesus.
Dammit, Mom!
Didn't you and Dad ever fight?
Don't worry. Everything's fine.
Everything's fine, yet here you are.
Come on! Who are you kidding?
Ugh, Mom. That's enough! You're making me regret coming here.
Fine. You don't wanna talk? Okay.
I'll go back to minding my own business.
Yeah.
Ugh.
Did you ever suspect anything?
So you went in, and she wasn't feeling well,
and she fell into your arms?
You're shitting me, right?
Ugh. Come on, Marco. You sound like my wife.
I shouldn't have come here.
You're actually a dick because you called a cuckold husband to cheer you up.
I'm sorry, man.
I saw Giulia.
Oh?
And?
She's back.
What do you mean, she's back?
How'd you react?
Actually, we fucked.
I swear.
What do you mean? You... you had sex?
How'd you feel about that?
Well, I still can't forget what happened.
I just can't.
Well, yeah. I mean...
If you ever think about cheating on Margherita,
just know that if she finds out, she'll really feel like shit.
And so will you.
It's just terrible all around. Trust me.
And I should know.
Beavers are nature...
CARLO: I'M AT YOUR MOM'S. YOU ALREADY AT THE GALLERY?
CARLO ONLINE
MARGHE ONLINE
CARLO LAST SEEN TODAY AT 00:34
ANDREA PHYSIOTHERAPIST LAST SEEN YESTERDAY AT 17:11
CAN I SEE YOU TOMORROW?
I'M IN A LOT OF PAIN...
Hey.
Finally, huh?
I had to sort a few things out.
Sort things out like you did with Concordia?
I ask that because the clients that wanted to buy it
called to see if we had anything similar,
since, apparently, you told them it was no longer for sale.
Come on, Marghe. Tell me what's going on.
I screwed up, Eva.
Oh, no. Listen.
Blowing up that kind of sale is much more than simply "screwing up." Okay?
So, would you kindly explain to me what is going on?
I wanted that house for Carlo and me.
I was just trying to buy time. I wanted to make it work somehow.
You should've shared that with me.
I know.
But things got really complicated,
and I started doing things that aren't me.
You just don't realize how big of a mess you've made. Do you?
With what you've been doing, what am I supposed to do about you now?
I'm your fucking business partner!
Eva...
Eva, please. I won't give you any more reasons to doubt me. I promise.
- We'll sell that house. - No. Look. I'll take care of it. Okay?
No. Really. I'll take care of it, Eva.
Trust me. We'll sort this out.
Listen, Margherita.
I have an appointment right now. All right?
And I like to be punctual.
Especially, since we can't afford to lose any more of our clients.
Okay?
Good morning.
One of the... the problems that surely... you'll face
is writing the ending of your story.
This entails
making a decision about whether to resolve your protagonist's journey,
or to leave it... unfinished.
So is it a better option
to use an open ending, a suspension,
or to give it a bitter ending, which sometimes is just inevitable, huh?
Giulia?
Marghe.
How are you?
I think we should sit down before I answer.
I ordered you a smoothie. A super detox one with dandelion.
You know the stuff.
Hmm. Thanks.
It's as disgusting as my life is.
- Excuse me? - Yes?
Can I have a double whiskey? And a prosecco.
- You still like prosecco, don't you? - Yeah. Of course I do.
Sorry.
I'm really sorry, Marghe. I've been terrible to you too.
I was disappointed, Giulia.
This is all huge, and you didn't tell me anything.
I'm your friend.
I didn't know how... how to tell you.
Everything I was sure of is gone, and, uh...
...even my stability too.
And, um... Hmm.
So what happened?
How did it start?
One night at the gallery.
He's a French painter. He was in Milan for a little bit.
Makes these beautiful paintings
with Renaissance architectonic elements, like...
And?
He liked me.
He was coming on to me.
He waited for me every night after work, and things were tough with Marco, Marghe.
I was exhausted, and...
I gave in to him.
I slept with him.
And, um, I... I actually liked it.
Um, I liked myself again. It made me happy.
And now?
I don't care about him at all.
I screwed up with Marco, and I don't know how to fix it. So, um...
Hmm.
There you go.
Thanks.
You can take away the, um...
- Slow down. - No.
No. It's not the time to slow down.
It's actually time to get to the point.
So, come on.
What did he say to Carlo last night?
Hmm?
To Carlo?
Yeah. They met. Right? When the bistro closed.
Marco said he was going to meet up with Carlo. Hmm?
Oh God. That was a lie, wasn't it?
He met somebody.
- No. Absolutely not. No. - Hmm.
Giulia, listen to me.
Last night, I went to bed early, and got up early.
I left the house, and I didn't even see Carlo before I left.
That's why I think it's...
It's, uh... it's... it's the truth. Right?
- Yeah. - Mm.
Because I know what happens when someone cheats.
It's one lie...
one lie after the other.
- Excuse me? - Yes.
The element of surprise it's crucial.
What you're missing here is a good old, unexpected plot twist.
- And that's it. - Okay. Great.
Anyway, congratulations. You did a great job. Bravo.
Thank you.
Is your life really as dynamic as this?
Uh, no. Well, I...
The story has a touch of fantasy.
Oh, okay.
Yeah. I mean, what can I do?
I haven't actually gone through many shitty moments in my life, so...
Hey. There's nothing wrong with a bit of fantasy for the sake of a great story.
- Thanks, a lot. - Well done. Okay. See you tomorrow.
- Bye. - Bye.
Sorry. I forgot my shorts.
Don't worry about it.
This is the spot.
Maybe a bit more to the left.
To the left?
More?
Via Filippo Sassetti, 32. Thanks.
Wait a moment.
If you accept, please hang up.
You need a ride?
No.
I called a taxi. Thanks.
Maybe next time, though.
Anytime.
I got off at the first stop.
So you have no valid excuse for being absent today?
No, no, no. It's valid.
I got completely sucked in to this one novel.
So much so it made me wanna try writing one again.
Hmm. What book was it?
It's yours.
You liked it?
A lot.
Your way of narrating pain is something I relate to.
- "Pain," huh? - Mm-hmm.
Are you sure it was my book you read?
I don't narrate pain.
Don't you?
What was it that made you so anxious the other day?
It wasn't the first I felt like that.
I get hit with sudden memories
of something that I thought I'd put behind me,
but that's still right here.
And it's painful?
Hmm.
Well, you should use it.
The pain, use it in your writing.
I can't find the right words to write about it.
I'd have to invent new ones.
Fantastic! Do it. Why not?
You're free. You can do anything you want!
That's what I was just telling Leonardo.
When it comes to writing, not every rule has to be respected.
You know, I actually really needed this talk.
Come on. Let's go.
Where?
To the perfect place for you to find the words.
Hmm.
There we go.
This is one of my favorite authors.
After you read this one,
you're gonna wanna read the whole trilogy, and then all the rest too.
"There's a very thin line between how we hide from the world
and how we choose to show up."
So you're saying you've already read all of MacKinnon at 20,
and that my tastes aren't all that sophisticated after all?
- I should've indulged you. - Yeah. You should've.
- Carlo! - Luca...
How nice to see you here. Hi.
- Uh... - Hello.
This is Sofia. She's my student and she's, uh...
This is Luca. He's, uh, my... my editor.
Nice to meet you.
I'm enchanted.
Right. Luca's the man to know if you wanna publish your first book,
and the one to avoid if you have to deliver a second one.
- Oh. And to that regard, I... - You are about to get something to read.
Do you know how many times I've heard that? Do you?
I beg of you, never say that.
Instead, you should be that rare type of writer
that doesn't ever keep the editors waiting for your work.
I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.
Thank you, Luca. Thanks.
Uh, yeah. That's good.
It's good that you're bringing the new generation to events like this one. Hmm?
If there wasn't such a, uh, let's say gap,
between practice and theory in these writing schools,
you know, maybe I'd read less rubbish.
You know?
Uh, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Well, I have to go. I have to host, so, ciao!
See you in a moment.
Obviously, I have absolutely no idea what event he's talking about,
but you don't have to stay with me.
No, no. I want to.
I wouldn't wanna disappoint your editor, would I?
I'll go sit in the front.
Thanks.
So, anyway, I have to say of course I'm sorry about the delay.
I apologize.
- Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. - A round of applause!
Should I read a little excerpt?
Of course. Why not?
"We have this need for things to end right away
so that they never end again.
A ghost of future memory, sweet regret endured in advance.
Something we are able to commemorate
and say we were given another chance."
Wow.
So, in your book, you're talking, uh,
about the fascinating idea of things that we haven't experienced,
and how we mystify an idea,
a mere thought of what may have been, but, um... but hasn't.
Well, yes, more or less.
Excuse me. Has anyone read the book?
Besides me, obviously.
- Hi! What's your name? - Sofia.
- Nice to meet you. - You too.
Yeah, no. I was just wondering about the ending, Ms. Grilli...
Oh. Alessandra.
Alessandra, when you imply
that what's really interesting and what makes us happy
are the challenges we've actually had the courage to face,
not just our dreams.
If I... I'm remembering right, there's a passage, um...
"Life is what is left after every crossroad."
- "Crossroad." That's right. - Yeah.
Which means that the responsibility of choosing our path is ours alone.
Well... I think you understand better than my editor.
Brava.
Since Sofia gracefully brought it up,
I wanted to, uh...
to speak about choice and responsibility.
About how important a difficult moment can be
because those are the moments that form our character.
You've read Grilli's book too?
Yep!
- What's it like? - Wonderful!
I could lend it to you.
Shall we get a drink?
No. We shouldn't.
Even if we just get one from that table over there?
No.
Okay.
See you in class tomorrow.
Okay.
Hello, Anna?
Hi.
Is Margherita still there?
Marghe, can you get that?
Yeah.
What are you doing here?
Why are you here?
To take you home.
How?
By car?
I hate what happened to us.
Me too.
I can't stand living without you.
I love you so much, Marghe.
I missed you so much last night.
Me too.
Let's go home.
♪ I heard he sang a good song ♪
♪ I heard he had a style ♪
♪ And so I came to see him ♪
♪ To listen for a while ♪
♪ And there he was, this young boy ♪
♪ A stranger to my eyes ♪
♪ Strumming my pain with his fingers ♪
♪ Singing my life with his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly with his song ♪
♪ Telling my whole life with his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪
♪ With his song ♪
♪ I felt all flushed with fever ♪
♪ Embarrassed by the crowd ♪
♪ I felt he found my letters ♪
♪ And read each one out loud ♪
♪ I prayed that he would finish ♪
♪ But he just kept right on ♪
♪ Strumming my pain with his fingers ♪
♪ Singing my life with his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly with his song ♪
♪ Telling my whole life with his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪
♪ With his song ♪
Any news on the Concordia house?
The online ad is getting a lot of views,
but I still haven't gotten any requests for appointments.
I'll sell it, you'll see.
So how much time do you need?
I'm committed to it. I told you.
I mean, how much time do you, Marghe, need to make an offer?
Cigarette?
I stayed at my mom's a few days ago.
I've never done that before.
I mean leaving after a fight with Carlo.
It's not the end of the world.
What now?
Now we've made up, but, uh,
it's kinda strange.
"Strange" as in...
As in, I don't know if things are gonna be like they were before.
- Are you cheating? - Uh, what? No!
Sorry. You just seem really distracted lately. You know?
But maybe just my instinct's wrong. Hey. It happens.
Actually, maybe Carlo's kinda cheating with a student of his.
What do you mean "kinda cheating"?
Either he's cheating on you or he's not.
Otherwise, it'd be hell. All those gray areas?
Well, there are desires and fantasies.
Yeah. I mean, if we paid attention to desires and fantasies,
we'd feel like we were all cheating all the time.
Oh, honey. I mean, your face says it all right now.
- Bye, guys. See you tomorrow. - See you. Bye.
- Sorry, but I can't. It makes me... - But why?
- Wasn't it planned? - Yeah. It was planned.
Luca! Listen, I know you're super busy,
but just let me know if you're coming to the symposium.
I wanted you to have a chat with the students.
Hey.
Ciao.
Going out tonight?
No. I'm going home.
- Have a good evening, then. - Ciao.
- Have a good evening.
- See you. - Ciao, Andrea.
Radio Taxi Milan...
Hop on.
I'll take you home. It's late.
All right, then.
But don't take me home.
So where are we going?
Wherever you want.
LOOSELY BASED ON "FIDELITY" BY MARCO MISSIROLI