Land protagonists of The Good MothersItalian crime series by Disney+ streaming from today April 5thare women born in the ‘Ndrangheta which they rebelled against. Names sadly known in the national news, collaborators of justice who partly paid for the complaints with their lives: Leah Garofalo – died in 2009 after being tortured and killed by her ex-partner; (his daughter Denise Cosco), Giuseppina Pesce and Maria Concetta Cacciola – died after ingesting a liter of muriatic acid that relatives passed off as suicide.
The Good Mothers – based on the book Of Alex Perry and endorsed by four hands Julian Jarrold and Elisa Amoruso – and so a female point of view on a genre explored many times. A story in which violence, the physicality of the clashes give way to 6 episodes of tensionpsychological and environmental. In which the wickedness of the criminal environment emerges, the traps, the blackmail, the silence imposed on women grown inside the most ferocious and rich clans of the ‘Calabrian Ndrangheta.
The Good Mothersthe plot
The first episode begins with the story of Lea Garofalo (1974-2009), played by a poignant Micaela Ramazzotti. Lea, despite having grown up in a family affiliated with the ‘Ndrangheta, she is a collaborator of justice. He decided to report the family and her husband Carlo Coscoplayed by Francesco Colella (ZeroZeroZero), For protect his daughter Denise (Gaia Giraceknown for her role as Lila in The brilliant friend.
After ten years lived in hidingentering and exiting the witness protection program, Lea decides to leave from Pagliarelle, his birthplace, to get closer to Carlo with the hope of reuniting the family in Milan. But, rather than being the beginning of a new chapter, this journey marks the last stage of the young woman’s life.
Micaela Ramazzotti and Gaia Girace (Lea Garofalo and Denise Cosco). (Claudio Iannone)
Women against the ‘Ndrangheta
The fate of Lea Garofalo and her daughter, torn apart by pain, is intertwined with that of two other women, equally rebellious and combative: Josephine – interpreted by Valentina Bellemasterful also in the Calabrian accent – mother of 3 children, with an active role in the family’s crime business who, however, discredits and mistreats her. And her best friend, Maria Concetta Cacciolaimpersonated by Simona Distefano (the traitor), walled up in the house by the men of her family, against which he rebels by going out in luxurious clothes, as if he belonged to high society.
From left to right: Simona Distefano, Micaela Ramazzotti, Gaia Girace and Valentina Bellè. (Disney+ / Oliver Walterscheid)
Anna Colace, the magistrate who shakes the ‘Ndrangheta empire
To offer an escape route to these women longing for redemption is Anna Colace, a young and determined PM, played by Barbara Chichiarelli – actress who stood out for the role of Livia Adami in Subura. He judge in Milan, arrives as a magistrate in Calabria, where conducts an in-depth study on the ‘Ndrangheta, tracing the link in the criminal machine in women.
It is precisely by leveraging the mothers and wives of the bosses that the magistrate manages to shake the empire of the underworld, breaking the plot of oppression and violencefrom which, finally, a glimpse of the future can be glimpsed, especially for the new generations.
A message of emancipation and freedom
«After reading the script of the first episode, I immediately felt the urgency to tell the stories of these women, invisible protagonists, who have contributed significantly to the fight against organized crime. Women who had the courage to denounce, guided by a desire for freedom towards that life, which had not been granted to them “. declared Elisa Amoruso – who has created a narrative product that is far from the usual cliché of the ‘Ndrangheta represented with armed bosses.
In a growing climax of emotional tension, juxtaposing female figures pursuing the same goalthe protagonists of The Good Mothers they are the feelings of women who, abandoning the margins of submission and violence, acquire centrality to transmit a universal message of emancipation and freedom.
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