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Adolescence opens with the explosive scene of an armed police unit bashing their way into the home of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), and oh, what a mess as they stop about the inside of the house, not even taking their outdoor shoes off!
He’s accused of murdering one of his classmates, and until his parents arrive at the station, after Jamie’s been carted off in a police van, he’s beside himself, trying to take it all in, looking like he’s barely hurt a fly.
So, did he do the deadly deed or, like The A-Team, was he arrested for a crime he did not commit? If you have a problem, If no one else can help and if you can find him… oh wait, he’s in police custody.
His parents, Eddie (Stephen Graham – Venom: The Last Dance) and Manda (Christine Tremarco – The Gathering) don’t know what to make of it, first not getting any hint of information whatsoever, but since the lad needs an appropriate adult with him so he can be interviewed, Jamie wants his Dad in with him.
When time comes for solicitor Paul Barlow (Mark Stanley – A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story) to be able to have a word with his client, again with Eddie sitting him, in order to prejudice a potential trial, he’s told when it’s okay to answer the police’s questions at this point, and when to say “no comment“. It can be a task to figure that out as an adult, after cops DI Bascombe (Ashley Walters – Missing You) and DS Misha Frank (Faye Marsay – Andor) have behaved the way they did, but for a child?
As Barlow tells them, the police must have compelling evidence in order to bash their door down as they did, but who was killed? Was he involved? Did he do it?
Well, obviously, no spoilers here. Y’see, the way dramas work is that you have to WATCH them in order to get the full info!
So far, I’ve seen the first two of the four episodes, the second of which sees cops interviewing friends of the deceased, teachers being harrased in general – especially when kids are seemingly allowed their phones inbetween classes, and it’s a drama that really gets the best out of its child actors, which must be difficult enough for a traditional way of filming, but for one-take episodes?!
Yes, since as with director Philip Baranti 2021 Boiling Point movie, each of these are shot in a single take, the camera frequently chops and changes between the cast members, so everyone gets a turn. Plus, the premise is understandably going to lead to various characters having to cry/well-up on cue, which is quite something for any film, let alone a a one-take movie.
Okay, not all of them are quite going to pull it off, but since I watch far too much TV for my own good, I’m going to spot if a tear gets missed, but then one-take movies are like stage plays, and because there’s no retakes, anything can go wrong. However, I can’t class a missed tear as ‘going wrong’, since that would be incredibly nit-picky.
The ‘going wrong’ issue is where I wonder if someone’s going to break by looking at the camera or forgetting their lines, but then when I’ve seen films shot in one take like Lost In London or Victoria, I recall that they were filmed 3 times over 3 days, and the best take used, so I’m wondering if that was done here, too.
Going back to the camera work in Adolescence, with so many people involved, I’m amazed it doesn’t bump into anyone, given how the camera is ducking and diving all over the place? And can someone explain how the drone shot was done in episode 2, after following a presumably handheld camera for the duration? Unless it’s a converted camera that can suddenly lift up like a drone?
With a far more meaty storyline than Boiling Point, and given the harrowing isses that frequent the news about what some youths get up to, I’m already calling Adolescence as the TV series of the year. The acting, writing and directing are all spellbinding stuff, and the more I watch this, the more I’m thinking it’s just so fucking insanely damn good!
Thanks to our friends at Netflix for the screener prior to release.
Adolescence is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Netflix from Thursday March 13th.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 45 minutes per episode (4 episodes)
Release date: March 13th 2025
Studio: Netflix
Format: 2.00:1
Director: Philip Barantini
Producer: Jo Johnson
Writers: Stephen Graham, Jack Thorne
Music: Aaron May, David Ridley
Cast:
Eddie Miller: Stephen Graham
Jamie Miller: Owen Cooper
DI Bascombe: Ashley Walters
DS Misha Frank: Faye Marsay
Manda Miller: Christine Tremarco
Lisa Miller: Amelie Pease
Briony Ariston: Erin Doherty
Paul Barlow: Mark Stanley
Mrs. Fenumore: Jo Hartley
Frank: Claudius Peters
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.