Adolescence review: If you plan to watch only one show this month, make it this four-part Netflix drama

Adolescence review: Netflix’s new blockbuster show, the four-part drama, Adolescence, goes on to prove many points: that there is no replacement for good content and brilliant writing, that performances can make or break a good story, that production quality is paramount, that cinematography is to film-making what a tune is to a song. 

Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham – who you might know from movies like Snatch, Gangs of New York, This is England, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Irishman, Rocketman – Adolescence is a masterclass on extraordinarily powerful storytelling. Its crux is a whodunit, or more like did-he-do-it, but as the last episode wraps up, you will realise that it was actually a whydunit. 

Adolescence revolves around 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), who is accused of murder and arrested one fine morning, out of the blue. The Millers are in distress but the police, accompanied by DI Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) and DS Misha Frank (Faye Marsay), break down their door, arrest the son, take him to the station, and initiate an investigation into the events of the fateful day that led to the death of Jamie’s fellow student, Katie Leonard. 

On the other hand, Jamie’s father Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham himself), mother Manda Miller (Christine Tremarco) and sister Lisa Miller (Amélie Pease) are coming to terms with the cataclysmic event that has upended their lives. 

The first part of Adolescence focuses on the events of Jamie’s arrest and the brutal process that ensues, the second part is about the investigating officers Bascombe and Frank visiting Jamie’s school to get a better idea of the events and his life, the third part focuses on the conversation between psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty) and Jamie, and the last part about the fallout of the event for the Millers and their attempt to return to normalcy. 

Adolescence delves into the pressure of being an adolescent in the time of social media, how there is such a high premium on how a child or even an adult is perceived. How incel culture and the pressures of social media fracture an individual into two selves. How being an adolescent who has to face the labyrinth of social media can be alienating for a child. How something as innocuous as emojis can turn sinister, and be weaponised. 

The show is a sum of its parts. All of it comes together beautifully and complement each other perfectly. If you take one of the ingredients out, Adolescence might not end up becoming the masterpiece that it is. 

Having said that, the most impressive bit about Adolescence, including its performances and story, is the camerawork. The episodes – the first one of 1 hour 5 mins, the second and third of 51 and 52 mins, and the fourth of 1 hour – were shot in one go. As impressive as it is, challenges were, naturally, in abundance while shooting. 

With only one camera moving in and out – as well as far above – all the actors had to treat the scenes as onstage in a play. Netflix revealed that all the episodes were shot in full twice across five days, which means 10 times at least. Out of that, the makers picked their takes to stitch the show together. 

The enormity of what this created, how all the bits and parts had to fall in together, will leave you spellbound. 

So, this week –  in fact, this month – if you are hard pressed for time and can watch only one show or movie, make it Adolescence on Netflix.