Adolescence

"Adolescence" is a new series that came out in mid-March of this year and has made its mark on Netflix. It has remained the #1 TV show on Netflix since its debut and definitely became one of the most talked about TV shows within a short period of time. Not only is it #1 on Netflix, it has been #1 in 93 different countries. Many have already shared their opinions on different platforms like TikTok, Instagram, X, and more, and the consensus is that "Adolescence" is not a show to entertain, but to inform. Spoilers ahead!

"Adolescence" is honestly one of the most poetic, thought-provoking, and impressive shows I have ever seen. In just four episodes that are all roughly an hour filmmakers, Philip Barantini, the director, gave us something that made the audience reflect in silence after watching. This drama is about a 13-year-old boy, Jamie Miller (played by Owen Cooper), accused of the murder of Katie Leonard (Emilia Holliday), a girl at Jamie's school. It shows the process of grief in many different ways. Greif for Katie is shown with her school, her friends, her family, and the entire community. Not only is there grief for Katie, but there is also grief for Jamie. Especially in episode 4, the show focuses on the dynamic of Jamie's family without him. He is in juvenile detention, going through therapy, and the family is clearly struggling without him. The show hints that the family was already slightly dysfunctional before the murder, but now the family was being targeted by most of the town. For example, Jamie's father, Eddie Miller (played by Stephen Graham), has a van from his plumbing company that gets spray painted with vulgarity. Watching this episode, I appreciated the writers’ ability to show all of the effects of Jamie's actions, even on the people who still loved him.

There are so many impressive aspects of this show that I'm not sure I can even write about all of them, but one of the things that really stands out to me is that each episode was filmed in only one take. Even a shot that was taken going from inside to outside through a window was still taken in one take. "There wasn’t actually a window there. It was taken out and put back in using VFX," said Netflix. The director and cinematographer made small models of what the set would look like, also making miniature actors. This helped the filmers know how to film and where to direct the cameras, as well as helping the actors know exactly where they were supposed to be going. The camera operators' and crewmates’ work is incredible and the dedication to keeping each episode in one shot is very admirable.

There have been some reviews online of people saying they do not like the ordering or pacing of the episodes, but I couldn't disagree more. The ordering was very thought-out, with the first episode (65 minutes long) being all about Jamie getting arrested, and did a great job of introducing all of the characters. It gave the audience a connection to Jamie and his family, along with giving us a good idea of who Jamie is as a person. 

The second episode (51 minutes) then focused on how Jamie's actions impacted his peers at school. It shows Katie's best friend, Jade (Fatima Bojang), being deeply impacted by her death. She starts a fight at school, which helps the detectives go even deeper into their investigation of trying to find out why Jamie killed Katie. This episode is the first one that hints at the message of the series, that toxic masculinity is negatively affecting many young boys around the world.

The third episode (52 minutes), and possibly the most impressive episode, is all about Jamie and his therapy. It shows Jamie's eleventh, and last, therapy session. Jamie talking to his therapist, Briony Ariston (played by Erin Doherty), makes up most of the episode. One aspect of this episode I loved was the coloring and tone that was changed throughout. In the beginning, Dr. Ariston and Jamie had a light conversation going about hot chocolate. She even brought Jamie a sandwich. The coloring was warm and bright, signifying comfort. As the episode progressed, their conversations became more focused on Jamie, how he thinks of women, his relationship with his father, and Katie. Jamie says some disturbing things and the tone becomes cooler. The colors are darker, signifying discomfort for both Jamie and Dr. Ariston. This conversation develops the main message even more than the second episode did. 

As stated previously, I think this episode may be the most impressive, or at least tied with the fourth episode for the most impressive acting. Not only was it shot in one take, but the episode mostly consisted of just Jamie and his therapist talking. There are times when Dr. Ariston is outside of the therapy room, talking to the security guard, but most of the episode is just her and Jamie talking. Owen Cooper was only 14 years old during the filming, and he really hasn't done any other acting in shows prior to "Adolescence". He and Erin  Doherty had to cover up mistakes from time to time in the episode so they did not have to restart a 50-minute episode. For instance, there was a point in the episode where Dr. Ariston accidentally said "Facebook” instead of “Instagram”, which was an important part of her line. Owen then improvised and covered up the mistake, making the script even better:

Dr. Ariston- “Katie wrote this on your Facebook feed.”

Jamie- “Facebook?”

Dr. Ariston- “Instagram.”

Jamie- “Are you all right? You look a bit red. Did I scare you when I shouted?”

Dr. Ariston- “She wrote this on your Instagram.”

Jamie- “I mean, I'm only 13. I don't think I look that scary.”

Dr. Ariston- “Could you tell me what these emojis are?”

Jamie- “How embarrassing is that? Getting scared of a 13-year-old. Wow.”

This shows Owen Cooper's amazing ability to improvise, even at such a young age. Many people say he has had one of the best debuts as a young actor.

The fourth episode (60 minutes long) focused more on the effects of Owen's actions on his family. The neighborhood they lived in acted very differently toward the family and they felt isolated, all because Jamie chose to kill Katie. Without going too in-depth about the entire episode, there were definitely some parts that stuck out to me. Near the end, Jamie's father asks his wife, “How did we make her?”, referring to Jamie's sister. Jamie's mom responds, “The same way we made him. With love, to the best of our ability.” This line was extremely powerful showing that when parents blame themselves for their children's bad actions, it may not be their fault. They tried to raise two kids the exact same way, and they ended up acting in completely different ways than each other. I thought it was a great way to end the series since it allowed the parents, especially Jamie's dad, to forgive themselves.

While the acting skills shown in all four episodes were very impressive, Stephen Graham's acting in episode four was some of the best I have seen in a long time. With the combination of his realistic acting and the show's one-shot idea, he had an amazing showing. Graham had the final scene of the series, which was him going into Jamie's bedroom and sitting on his bed, crying in grief for his son. Graham's dialogue in this final scene was devastating: “I'm sorry, son. I should've done better.” This was one of the most moving scenes, not just for me, but for most viewers as well.

The main message of this show was very moving and powerful, as it connected the effects of social media on young boys. "Adolescence" implies that there is a rise of cultural misogyny, especially in social media. The series references things like Andrew Tate and “The Red Pill," which both influence young boys’ views on women. It shows how easily children just like Jamie are influenced online by what their role in society should be. Jamie is a representation of the youth that is impacted by social media and how it can depict women. In the third episode, Jamie reveals to the therapist that he had tried to ask Katie out, but was rejected. The show suggests that Jamie killed Katie because she hurt his feelings.

The director, Philip Barantini, says he hopes that the series is able to help viewers be more sympathetic towards today's youth. He says, “When I was growing up, if you had a problem with someone, you sorted it out in the playground then went home and forgot about it, but now social media makes that impossible.”

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving "Adolescence" a watch on Netflix if you're looking for a shorter series that will definitely make you contemplate the role of social media in the youth for some time afterward.