Adolescence.
Set in Northern England this UK production tells an unflinchingly riveting story, portraying a family tragedy of the first order. The working class families life is explosively disrupted when a fully armed tactical police squad breaks into their suburban house to arrest their thirteen year old son, who has been accused of murdering a female schoolmate. Oblivious to the accusation and their sons involvement, the bewildered family after their initial hysteria at the break in is stunned into mute disbelief. After the boy is carted off to the police station to be charged The pace and tone settle down into a more prosaic processing of the accused. The remaining detectives played by Ashley Walters (DI Luke Bascombe) and Faye Marsay (as DS Misha Frank) calmly inform the parents of their rights and what procedures will follow. The accused, Jamie, brilliantly played by first time actor Owen Cooper hysterically proclaiming his innocence all the while on his way to the police station. Followed by his still mute parents and older sister. The father, Eddie in a virtuoso performance by Stephen Graham, (also one of the Writers) is chosen by his son as his advocate. Despite his shock gallantly doing so until he views the unrefutable video evidence, adding to his stunned disbelief he breaks down in front of his boy. The investigation by the two detectives moves to Jamies school where they try and get information from some of the students as to the whereabouts of the missing murder weapon. DI Bascome’s son a student in the school give some important leads. While there Adam (Bascome’s son) alerts his dad to the pejorative meaning behind some emojis that Katie was sending to Jamie on Instagram, prompting the detective to start looking into whether Jamie might have been cyber-bullied.
In this third and most engrossing segment peppered with astounding long closeups of facial reactions to the intense conversations between Briony Ariston the appointed psychologist, again in a jaw dropping performance by Erin Doherty who is tasked with producing a psychological assessment of Jamie. During the interview, Jamie transitioning between the innocent thirteen year old boy and fits of rage and temper culminating in a truly frightening threatening gesture towards her that leaves her in shock, trembling. After which he berates her for being scared of a young boy. Revealing in that instant that he was fully capable of murder. Also telling her in a calmer moment that he had tried to ask Katie out after a photo of her topless was circulated to classmates via Snapchat as a type of revenge porn. He appears to have asked her out to make her feel better, but says Katie rejected his advances and then proceeded to send him the emojis attacking him for asking her out. He says she falsely accused him of being an "incel," or involuntary celibate, referring to an online community of men who are frustrated that they aren't having sex.
Finally the tale concludes on Jamie’s father Eddie’s birthday. But it’s not a happy day at all because Eddie wakes up to find the van for his plumbing business has been vandalized. His family tries to cheer him up on the way to the store to buy removal materials. A smile breaks out on his face when his wife (Christine Tremarco) gives her daughter Lisa (Amelie Pease) an overview of how they met. But Eddie’s birthday gets worse when he gets a call from Jamie in prison on the ride back home. Jamie wanted to call to wish his dad a happy birthday and also to tell him that he is going to plead guilty to killing Katie, the first time viewers learn how he’s going to plead. Jamie only appears as a disembodied voice in the last episode. Back home, the parents go back and forth about what they could have done better as parents to prevent this situation—rehashing a conversation they have had many times since Jamie was taken away. Eddie repeatedly assures his wife that there is nothing they could have done better, that they couldn’t be watching him every minute. The episode ends with both parents in tears.
On top this very intense riveting tale is a piece of techno information which is hardly noticeable, the storytelling is so completely engrossing. That is each one of the four one hour segments were shot in one continuous take, with no cuts, edits or breaks of any kind. Put this logistical impossibility (you figure it out) on top of the unprecedented ensemble acting, and…. My head just exploded
623 stars
