Netflix’s newest limited series, “Adolescence,” premiered March 13 and received 24.3 million views in the first four days after its release, with numbers continuing to grow through positive word of mouth. The crime drama show is distinct from other programs on Netflix as each of its one-hour long episodes were shot in one continuous take. The show also sets itself apart as it is more of a “whydunit” rather than a “whodunit,” with the show exploring the aspects of society that could lead to a child committing a murder.
The show has been receiving positive reviews and many people even claim that the show should be essential for everyone to watch.
“Adolescence” kicks off when 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) gets arrested under suspicion of having murdered his classmate. The series explores the four days and perspectives surrounding this arrest; Jamie’s initial arrest and questioning, the exploration of his school and social media presence, a psychological examination of Jamie, and the aftermath of his arrest for his family.
This show is a masterclass in storytelling and excels both in its technical qualities and in the messages it conveys. Amidst an oversaturation of content on streaming services, the show is truly a masterpiece.
This show does something I’ve never seen before, which is having each hour-long episode be a single continuous shot. I’ve seen films before that were shot in this style, like the Academy Award-winning film “1917,” however, “1917” used match cuts to make its long takes look seamless. This film is still a great feat, but seeing an entire show take on the one-shot style in emotional one-hour segments that had to be meticulously choreographed was incredible to watch.
The cinematography was stunning and so smooth, despite the village that it took to get each take. For example, throughout the four episodes, crew members had to attach the camera to a car, switch it between different camera operators, pass it through windows and even attach it to a drone to make the camera “fly” over scenery just to get an aerial shot.
I also think it was genius to film the continuous shots in such a way that the camera always follows a character. This means that the camera flows seamlessly between each storyline, keeping the audience engaged for the entire hour of each episode as if watching the events unfold in real time. This decision to show these in “real time” gives the audience a more raw and holistic view of the very intense situation.
Another aspect that brought this show to life was the acting. Every single actor in this show was phenomenal, delivering performances that felt like you were genuinely watching real people experience this terrible event in real life. Cooper’s performance was especially astounding as he was only 13 when the show was filmed and he had never acted before. He manages to play Jamie in an unsettling way while giving him so much humanity that becomes key to his character.
I think depending on who you are, you’ll probably resonate with a certain character or storyline within this show. For me, being a teenager and not a parent, I was the most fascinated by Jamie’s storyline, especially in episode three, as I resonated with his struggles with self-worth and loneliness, while still being disgusted over things he said about women and the crime that he committed. But this is what makes his character work — rather than painting him as just a psychotic killer, the show exhibits that he has good inside him and that he is human. However, his actions were brought on by society’s treatment of him and toxic masculinity, something that so many children and teenagers are subjected to in our present day.
This is one of the many reasons why this show is fantastic; every single character has depth, and rather than spell everything out to the audience and have the point of the show be about giving us answers, the real point of the show is just to ask questions and explore the complexities of humanity.
One of the creators and writers of the show, Stephen Graham, said on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “You know that beautiful saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ Well, I just thought, what if we’re all kind of accountable? You know, the education system, parenting, the community, the government...I’m not blaming anyone. I just thought maybe we’re all accountable, and we should have a conversation about it.”
I think this beautifully sums up the point of this show and why it spends time on the moments it does, moments that typical crime drama shows don’t. I don’t think this show is supposed to be a high action, dramatic, shock-value narrative; instead, it’s genuinely trying to explore a world-wide phenomenon of kids becoming violent and open a conversation with parents and educators about how we can better protect children.
I highly recommend everyone watch this show as it is entertaining, a mastery in technical ability and opens the door to important conversations that could help create a safer world for children.
