 "Netflix’s Adolescence Review: Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper starrer show is indeed a masterpiece and an eye-opener for all parents")
Language: English
Director: Philip Barantini
Cast: Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco
Adolescence has rightly been called the closest thing to perfect cinema-making in ages. The series is so engaging that it will make every parent ask if we are doing it right or not. Many had to say that the show talks about ’toxic masculinity,’ but I beg to differ. In fact, it is too strong a statement for a 13-year-old who doesn’t know how to deal with his raging hormones. It’s not about misogyny either.
This Netflix show addresses far deeper issues that kids today are going through because of the terrible pressure of social media. If anything needs to be checked, it is social media, which has become a virtual demon. In this four-episode miniseries, each told through one continuous shot, the social issues, including incel culture, are handled with care and extreme sensitivity. Very rarely do we come across such powerful show like Adolescence that will hit you so hard.
We all know that there is nothing like perfect parenting or a perfect child. And my heart goes out not only to the child who gets killed, but also to James Miller (Owen Cooper) and his family, especially his father Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham). The father, Eddie Miller, played by Stephen Graham grief is so real that you can feel tears rolling down your cheek. Adolescence shows how their perfect life turns upside down when their son gets arrested for the murder of his classmate in the nearby woods. The show will make every parent ask whether we are doing it right or not.
If any show needs a five out of five, it is definitely this. First-time actor Owen Cooper’s immersive and compelling performance will keep you glued to the screen. There are ways of dealing with grief. Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham), being a father who is completely broken from inside doesn’t shy away from crying. The mother of James Miller on the other hand holds back her tears most of the time. The expressions of each of the actors; Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco are so real that you get totally immersed and you can feel you are going through that shooting pain. And that’s what makes the show so brilliant.
As for Owen Cooper, he is indeed naturally gifted. _Adolescence_ marked Owen Cooper’s acting debut and the child actor deserves all the praise for the fact that each episode is filmed in a single take. The way he delivers his dialogues, the expressions, the mannerisms, makes you question is this innocent boy has actually committed the crime of killing a class-mate. Cooper is currently 15 and shot the web show when he was 14. His performance makes you empathize with him because he too is a victim of online bullying.
When the police officer visits the school where a kid called Kattie has been killed by her classmate, there is total chaos. Neither the teachers are able to control them, nor is the officer and his colleague is unable to make the kids understand that they are here to solve the case. The kids are agitated and are not willing to listen because they too are at their wits’ end as to why the elders are unable to understand what’s playing in their tender and vulnerable minds.
Every episode you watch will make you ask, ‘Is everything okay with my child? Is he safe? Are we doing it right? Adolescence is indeed a lesson for all parents because just when you think all is fine, life has its way of pushing you with the toughest challenge.
Owen Cooper’s acting teacher rightly said, “Actors train for years and years and still can’t really master what Owen has mastered.” What makes the show engaging is the fact that Adolescence is not about solving a crime because the police force had solved the case and found the evidence in the very initial part of the show. What makes the show a standout masterpiece is the way it is handled which includes the way Ashley Walters who plays the role of a police officer handles the case with sensitivity and treats the child who committed the crime with dignity. Because at the end of the day for every parent, he is a good kid.
Adolescence reminded me of another show that I watched a few years back on Apple TV Defending Jacob where Chris Evans plays the father. He too played a father protecting his son from suspicion of murder in an engaging and intimate eight-part portrayal of a family under pressure. But the only difference is the father here played by Stephen Graham is not trying to defend his son. Rather he keeps on telling the police officers and others around that he is a good kid and tries questioning himself where he went wrong as a father. Here the story opens up in the very initial part of the series.
In one of the scenes he even tells his wife, “He asked for the computer and I gave him the computer. I used to play with him. Business started picking up and was coming back home. Probably I didn’t give him the time that I was able to give him before.”
The show is a must watch for several reasons, as to why we need to keep a tab of what kids are up to even in the safest corners of our house, what is he/she watching? Handling a teenage child isn’t easy because that’s an impressionable age and as parents we too need to be vigilant and careful of our own actions.
Sometimes we don’t realise what is playing in the minds of kids especially teenagers and pre-teens. The show will make you cry seeing the plight of the parents and also James Miller (Owen Cooper) because though he committed a crime, it looks like he did it at the heat of the moment and because of prolonged bullying on social media.
Boys generally don’t express themselves, the way girls do. Generally, for teenage boys there is a storm inside them because they don’t look their best at this age, so they left out, they can’t handle the raging hormones. And that is the time we need to be by their side because they will not say that they need you, but they really do.
Rating: 5 out of 5
WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Adolescence here:
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