Fan of crime dramas? Then Adolescence is really something for you
After the release of the bizarre documentary about Charles Manson Netflix doesn't give us much time to recover; the next crime drama is already at the door. This time it's fiction, but that doesn't mean it's any less intense. ‘Adolescence’ tells the story of 13-year-old Jamie who is suspected of murder. And that accusation turns the life of everyone around him upside down.
A family turned upside down
A quiet morning in the home of Eddie (Stephen Graham) and Manda Miller (Christine Tremarco) is brutally interrupted when heavily armed officers storm in. They are looking for Jamie (Owen Cooper), the couple's 13-year-old son. The boy is arrested and suspected of murdering a classmate. The rest of the family is left in fear and disbelief. Detective Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) is tasked with uncovering the truth, but he quickly discovers that finding hard evidence, especially due to conflicting statements, is very difficult. Jamie himself continues to insist that he is innocent. Psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty) also gets involved in the case; she needs to find out what Jamie's motives might have been. Once again, it turns out to be much more complicated than anyone could have thought. As the Miller family comes more into the spotlight and their surroundings turn against them, the question remains what is really going on, and whether Jamie is indeed the guilty one.
A special extra
If the storyline hasn't completely convinced you yet? Then the creators have a special ace up their sleeve to give that final push. During the filming of the series, they made a unique choice: all episodes are filmed in one long shot. From the moment you hit play until the credits start rolling. This way, you are taken along in ‘real time’ with what the characters are experiencing at that moment, and you discover new information at the same time as they do. A clever trick to immerse you even more in the story as a viewer. But filming this way is not exactly easy. “It takes months of preparation and weeks of rehearsals and an incredible team of people to make it happen at every stage, from the script to the locations, to the production design, to where the camera can film exactly and from which angle,” says director Philip Barantini. Fortunately, he and lead actor Stephen Graham had already had a chance to practice; they also used this technique in the film ‘Boiling Point’. That earned them a BAFTA nomination, so our expectations are naturally high.
Real life inspiration
In addition to being the lead actor, Graham is also the creator and writer of the series. According to him, the story is a response to the increasing knife crime among young people in the United Kingdom, with a knife involved in 83 percent of teenage murders in 2023-2024. In conversation with co-writer and creator Jack Thorne, Graham discovered more important themes he wanted to incorporate into the series. “One of our goals was to ask: ‘What is happening to our young men these days, and what is the pressure they experience from their peers, from the internet, and from social media?” The creators wanted to go beyond just the question ‘who is the perpetrator?’, viewers needed to be made to think. ‘We wanted you to look at this family and think: ‘My God. This could happen to us too.’ And what happens here is the worst nightmare of an ordinary family.” Whether that message comes across, we are about to find out. The trailer promises a lot of good things.
‘Adolescence’ will be available on Netflix starting March 13.
Image: Netflix
