This eye-opening, emotionally immersive series spans four solid episodes, each intricately crafted to engage viewers from beginning to end. Directed by Philip Barantini, renowned for his edit-free continuous shot film BOILING POINT, each episode is cleverly filmed in a single continuous take and follows a real-time thematic framework, summarised as follows: the arrest of the accused (first episode), sociological insights affecting the crime (second), psychological insights into the crime (third), and the impact on the family of the accused (fourth).
The first episode centres on the arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller, portrayed by newcomer Owen Cooper, who is charged with murdering schoolmate Katie Leonard (Emilia Holliday). The continuous flow of police procedures is uncomfortably frightening, through the process of interrogation by Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) and Detective Sergeant Misha Frank (Faye Marsay), securing a lawyer, Paul Barlow (Mark Stanley), and the accompaniment of an adult for an underage accused, Jamie’s dad Eddie Miller (played by show creator Stephen Graham), invoking feelings of uncertainty and dread, all captured brilliantly up to the episode’s revealing climactic end.
The second episode shifts to the scene of the crime at the school, exploring the culture and dynamics among today’s schoolchildren. Bascombe and Frank, guided by teacher Mrs Fenumore (Jo Hartley), meet Jamie’s evasive friend Ryan (Kaine Davis), Katie’s grieving best friend Jade (Fatima Bojang), and Bascombe’s distant son Adam (Amari Bacchus). This episode delves into an atmosphere of anarchy and chaos, with teachers yelling at students just to gain their attention and obedience. It also brilliantly examines the social media world of these kids, unveiling hidden meanings behind emoticons – from red pills to various coloured heart emojis – and addressing the harsh realities faced by involuntarily celibate (incel) individuals who consider themselves unattractive. This intricately choreographed episode involves a large cast, a chase scene, and drone filming, which was perfectly orchestrated in its execution.
The third episode is a two-hander masterclass in psychology as Jamie (a broodingly scary performance by Cooper) gets a session with the defence-appointed psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty), who acts as an expert witness and has to assess Jamie for his intent and motivations for the murder. This episode delves into the nuances of forensic psychology as it explores the mindset of an individual looking into traces of insecurities, repressed sexuality, and psychopathy. It started with a great use of half of a cheese-pickle sandwich and a hot chocolate drink with marshmallows to break the ice. The authenticity of the exchange is remarkable as it probes Jamie’s feelings while exploring those triggers to rage and anger. Eventually, what starts in the session as a young, innocent facade transforms into an uncontrollable outrage given the right provocations. The most emotive moment, though, is the ending, in which Jamie asks whether she likes him, which is both sad and heartbreaking for both individuals.
The fourth episode is an impassioned look at the impact of the crime on the accused’s family, who faces ostracism and rebuke from the community. It starts out very happy as Jamie’s dad, Eddie, wakes up to his 50th milestone birthday and is greeted with black pudding by his wife, Manda (Christine Tremarco), and daughter, Lisa (Amélie Pease). Upon seeing the vandalism done to his van, the family dramatically spirals into a deep emotional whirlpool of doubts and questioning as they dream of a regular day of going to the movies and eating their favourite Chinese food. The real-time transition from that thought of normality to that of a traumatised family was skillfully done and so realistic; it was quite an impactful smiles-to-tears experience. This is the most emotional of all four episodes, as it finishes with a very moving final scene and a solid performance from Graham.
So, ADOLESCENCE was already exceptional because it has superb content and great performances. But what even elevates this to art is the production’s decision to film each episode in one continuous take. No invisible cuts like 1917 and BIRDMAN. Barantini had three weeks for each episode with the first week for actor rehearsals and the second week involving the camera crew. The third week of filming would have enabled the actors to have muscle memory with their lines as they do two full takes a day. In essence, the system felt like a theatre play with rehearsals and a week of two full performances a day. Within that week, they would have filmed as many as sixteen takes per episode. The best take is chosen without any need for a picture editor. The decision as to which to use varied: Episode 1, for instance, used the second take, while Episode 4 used the final 16th take.
If you aren’t aware of the long take nature of the show, you would have thought that there were edits in the first episode, but you will then marvel at how the camera glides nearby through the police travel to Jamie’s house for his arrest down to the intimate filming within the police van as it goes to the police station. The novelty of this one continuous take goes back to show classics like ER and THE WEST WING, where they were partially employed, with cameras following the characters as they walk through corridors. ADOLESCENCE also used the concept of being in a real-time hour-long event like 24 and HOMELAND, with that feeling of a continuous, uninterrupted moment.
In terms of camera work, Episode 2 has the most challenging technical highlights, such as the cop-schoolkid chase scene and the drone sequence transporting the viewer from one location to another. Episode 3 is a marvel at how the camera can dramatically move from one character to another and substantially nail the emotion of the scenes, which would generally be a full-time editor job. Episode 4 was excellent in the travel scenes from the house to the hardware store and back to the house, which requires a camera hooked into the van during an actual drive. What is impressive is that the camera has successfully captured the emotional journey of the family as they go on through their day.
It may be early, but I predict ADOLESCENCE’s success in the awards season with Emmy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA wins, with good chances of acting wins for Cooper and Graham. Not too bad for Netflix after last year’s success of an equally outstanding show, BABY REINDEER. These wins will be most deserving, as ADOLESENCE is a once-in-a-lifetime affectingly riveting viewing experience.
The Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) is back from 23 October to 22 November 2023, with screenings in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, and the Gold Coast.
As of this writing, the Golden Globe 2025 nominations have been announced, with EMILIA PEREZ leading with ten nominations. This was followed by THE BRUTALIST with seven nominations, CONCLAVE with six, ANORA and THE SUBSTANCE with five each. It has been surprisingly delightful for the Cannes Best Screenplay winner, THE SUBSTANCE, a body horror genre film that got classified in the Musical or Comedy category.
