In just 4 hours (4 x 1 hour), the British miniseries ADOLESCENCE hits hard and fast, both in content and style. It can be classified as a "family drama," centered around the unfortunately very present theme in our society of incels and its perverse, masculinist, and misogynistic deviations. I refer you here to the Wikipedia entry on the incel concept, which is very detailed.
The series was unanimously praised for its exposure and denunciation of this subculture, even to the point that British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after watching it with his two teenage children, decided that this Netflix production should be broadcast and discussed in every high school in the kingdom. But to reduce ADOLESCENCE solely to this sociological and societal context - fascinating, without a doubt - while simultaneously ignoring its impact on the family of the young boy (Jamie, 13) accused of murdering one of his classmates, as well as the very format the series takes, seems to me to be very damaging to it.
Each of the four episodes is filmed in real time (one hour) and in a single take, a long sequence shot more or less focused on a single location (episode three, remarkable) or, conversely, constantly moving from one location to another, accompanying the character(s) at the center of the episode in question. Here, we are witnessing a sumptuous work of staging and direction, with a camera that is always very fluid, sometimes very close, sometimes with a welcome distance. There's no trickery, no invisible cuts that make it look like a single shot when in reality two or more shots have been edited together, no special effects with the same objective; no, each episode unfolds a genuine single shot. The effect created is the viewer's attachment to the action unfolding before their eyes. We are gripped and drawn in, attached to the coattails of the character embodying a subjective point of view at any given moment: (the police inspector, Jamie, his father in episode 1; the inspector in episode 2; Jamie and especially a psychologist in episode 3; the father, accompanied by his wife and daughter in episode 4).
The atmosphere is heavy, chilling, deeply captivating, and even hypnotic. It's impossible to resist the overwhelming desire to watch all four episodes back-to-back. The four hours pass like a breath filled with extreme tension.
While the heart of the matter hits us hard (without ever a hint of moralizing, despite its unmistakable pathos), ADOLESCENCE also shines with its absolutely perfect casting, as in any good British series.
In the role (his first on-screen role) of Jamie, young Owen Cooper (two years older than his character) proves to be a fantastic revelation. Stephen Graham (the father), the originator of the project and co-writer, already admired in the powerful TV movie Help (2021, alongside Jodie Comer) and the series Bodies (2023), offers a devastating performance of suppressed emotions that finally explode in the final episode. I should also highlight the superb performance of Erin Doherty (Princess Anne in seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown) as the psychologist in episode 3.
ADOLESCENCE will leave a lasting mark on the history of series and is already proving to be a serious contender for the title of best of the year, even though the year has only just begun.
My rating: 9/10.
4 out of 11 found this helpful