Uncomfortable, exhausting, but unforgettable – television at its best. If you've seen Boiling Point, the heart-pounding, suspenseful one-shot drama directed by Philip Barantini, then Adolescence is probably already on your to-watch list.
The series was co-created by Stephen Graham, who shone in Boiling Point as a chef on the verge of collapse, along with screenwriter Jack Thorne, with Barantini once again taking the helm. The four-episode Netflix masterpiece is a mix of crime and psychological drama that follows a family whose 13-year-old son is accused of murdering a classmate with the same relentless single camera.
The result? A relentless, hypnotic and eerily authentic experience, which will corner you and leave you breathless.
What happens in “Adolescence”?
The series grabs the viewer by the throat in the first few minutes. Police raid at dawn. Furious screams. The walls shaking under the weight of the battering ram on the door. The Miller family is thrown into a nightmare from which there is no escape.
Father Eddie (Graham), mom Manda (Christine Tremarco) and older sister Lisa (Amelie Pease) before they even realize what's happening, they're watching the police brutally drag 13-year-old Jamie (Owen Cooper) out of bed. Accusation? Murder of a classmate.
Everything then moves to the police station, where the first continuous shot takes place hour-long emotional avalanche – a shocked family in a sterile waiting room, lawyers choosing words like surgical scalpels, and a detective DI Bascome (Ashley Walters, Top Boy) and DS Frank (Faye Marsay, Andorra), which have solid evidence.
Jamie insists on his innocence. Is he really innocent? And if not – how did he get to the point where he is being accused of something so scary?
Directorial Masterpiece: One Shot, Four Different Worlds
Recorded the entire miniseries in single shots sounds like an exercise in style – but in reality the format works brilliantly. Barantini knows what he's doing. The camera doesn't allow for a break, it doesn't allow for cuts, it doesn't give any room to breathe. The viewer finds himself caught in a vortex of harsh reality, as if he were another unfortunate member of the crumbling Miller family.
Each episode opens a new chapter in a family tragedy, and time jumps forward:
- Episode 1: Police Station – tension that can be cut with a knife. The camera jumps between quiet whispers and explosions of anger.
- Episode 2: School – teachers, students, and parents try to cope with the shock. Social dynamics fall apart before the viewer's eyes.
- Episode 3: Therapy – Jamie and the psychologist (Erin Doherty) in a duel of words and silence. Here, fragments of the truth are revealed.
- Episode 4: Birthday – the family tries to move on with their lives, but the ghosts of the past don't allow for joy.
Each location has its own energy, its own pace, its own aesthetic, but the format remains relentless. The camera forgives nothing – tears, trembling hands, a look that flees from the truth.
Cast: A real emotional bomb
In this type of drama, everything could fall apart if the ensemble cast was merely average. Fortunately, “Adolescence” has true masters of the game.
- Stephen Graham he is a lesson in acting as Eddie Miller – every wrinkle on his face screams a story of the collapse of his father's world.
- Ashley Walters and Faye Marsay They are perfect as seasoned detectives who know that on the other side of the table is a boy, not a monster – and yet they don't give up.
- Owen Cooper as Jamie? A pure revelation. His interpretation of a frightened, but perhaps not entirely innocent, child is creepy and heartbreaking at the same time.
And just when we think we've seen it all, here comes Erin Doherty in the third episode and delivery an extraordinary psychological duel, which would easily find its way onto theater stages.
Is “Adolescence” a perfect series? No. And that’s okay.
If you are looking for easy viewing for a Friday night, you will hit a wall here. “Adolescence” it is anything but a pleasant sight – it is dark, depressing and at times extremely painful.
In addition, the series spends most of its time following the perpetrator and his family, while it remains the victim almost completely in the background – which raises important ethical questions. But this is not a typical crime or “whodunnit” story. It is a brutal dissection of social fissures that can lead to unimaginable actions.
Through Jamie's story, the series explores manosphere, online influences on teenagers and systemic shortcomingswhich we often overlook. The result is not always comfortable – but it is absolutely necessary.
Conclusion: A series you won't be able to (or want to) forget
“Adolescence” is not a series you watch and forget. It's not made for one-night binge-watching. It is an intense experience that grabs you and doesn't let go.
If you are ready to emotional rodeo without seat belts, this is one of the most important and masterfully crafted series of the year. If not, maybe you'd rather opt for something a little more gentle – like a documentary about baby pandas.
🎬 Rating: 9.5/10
👉 “Adolescence” is now available on Netflix. If you dare.
