Series Review: Adolescence

This 4 part mini-series follows the Miller family. There's Mum and Dad (Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham) and their two children Lisa and Jamie. (Amelie Peace and Owen Cooper) Only, it's not a normal Saturday morning. On the morning we meet the Millers, police are breaking down their door and arresting their 13 year old son for the murder of one of his classmates. 

Jamie, small, frail, and confused cries that he didn't do it. His dad of course believes him. Then when all the evidence is laid out on the table, this series turns from the murder mystery you thought it might be to the aftermath of what toxic masculinity and the manosphere can do to a child. 

We follow Jamie's story in 4 distinct parts. Episode one is the day of the arrest. Episode 2 is a few days later and follows the police investigation. Episode 3 is a session with a psychologist, and episode 4 goes back to Jamie's family in the wake of it all. Each episode is shot as one continuous take. 

What struck me immediately was how different the police officers acted vs what I normally see in stories like this. DI Bascombe (Ashley Walters) is the investigating officer, but instead of going straight into intimidating mode, he suggests Jamie get a solicitor. Another officer and nurse both mention how much they hate juvenile cases. There's just an air of sadness around all of it.

Another aspect that sets this show apart is how it chooses to focus solely on Jamie. We don't see the victim, or their family. We are introduced to one of their friends, Jade (Fatima Bojang) in the second episode, and that did make me wish we came back to them at some point, but I understand why the filmmakers chose to tell this story the way they did.

The acting all around is fantastic, but I'm especially impressed with the young Owen Cooper. He's utterly convincing in every situation we see Jamie in. Especially in the 3rd episode where he goes toe to toe with the fantastic Erin Doherty's psychologist. 

If anything, I wish this had been 5 episodes instead of 4, just to bring back Jade's character and to see things from that side, but the 4 episodes we have are very strong. The final one may seem underwhelming compared to the rest in terms of story, but it's emotional impact is immense. 

Acolescence is available to stream on Netflix.