Adolescence, now streaming on Netflix, doesn’t ask for your undivided attention; it demands it.
Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham’s powerful one-take mini-series, Adolescence, is far more than just a scintillating, devastatingly emotional, and expertly crafted TV show; it’s one of the most urgent dramas of the past twenty years as it lays out before us a new cancer eating away at far too many boys and young men in online forums, video-sharing websites and peer groups. Sites like Kick, TikTok and Instagram have become breeding grounds for young male anger, and a new ideology, often linked to political extremism that seeks to assert that men’s rights are under threat, and women are to blame.
Far too many young boys and men, who are attempting to find their way in a turbulent world where concepts of masculinity and male identity can feel obscure, find themselves virtually recruited by ‘influencers’ whose only wish is to spread their poison. Adolescence isn’t afraid to explore this truth through the story of Jamie Miller, the truly outstanding Owen Cooper.
From opening scenes that see us witness the chaos, pain and trauma of police officers smashing in the doors of a loving family home, only to arrest a fourteen-year-old boy who looks dazed, terrified and vulnerable, to initial police interviews, where a father (Stephen Graham) desperately attempts to protect his son, Adolescence doesn’t ask for your undivided attention, it demands it.
Remarkable in its craft, outstanding in its performances, and captivating in its social drama, Adolescence is a terrifying warning of the hate and misogyny freely running through our streets, schools, and online communities and an urgent wake-up call to us all not to let our boys and young men become victims of this extremist ideology.
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