Adolescence, an exploration of toxic masculinity among the youth

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

TV Review
Adolescence
Netflix

(WARNING: This includes spoilers.)

THERE ARE MANY films and shows about technology and the younger generation, from dramas and romances to horror flicks and even documentaries. Adolescence on Netflix, a miniseries consisting of four episodes, weaves a fictional thriller loosely inspired by real events, where a 13-year-old boy is accused of murder — and it has easily become the most tension-filled, heartbreaking show on that platform.

Set in present day in a small town in the UK, it follows Jamie Miller (played by phenomenal newcomer Owen Cooper) as he wakes up to a police raid storming his home and taking him to the police station amid the panicked cries of his father, mother, and older sister.

As the title suggests, all of this is made harrowing by majority of the first episode not acknowledging the elephant in the room: what did this young adolescent do to warrant such a violent arrest? Jamie’s father Eddie (played by brilliant veteran actor Stephen Graham) agrees to accompany him to the station, where intrusive medical checks and tense meetings with a lawyer build up more suspense.

While Eddie has firmly stood by his son all throughout, the episode concludes with the police interrogation, where horrifying information (complete with CCTV footage) comes to light and shakes his core — it turns out Jamie has murdered a female classmate.

The entire episode occurs in a continuous shot, covering a full hour from the police raid to the aftermath of the shocking revelation. Directed by Philip Barintini (known for the thrilling culinary drama Boiling Point, which Graham also starred in), the show’s first episode makes a strong impression as it takes us through different characters to slowly reveal the details of the case.

It is unbelievable that Cooper is a first-time actor, as he portrays the baby-faced, uncertain Jamie with such vulnerability. The third episode, where he comes face-to-face with Erin Doherty as intelligent therapist Briony Ariston, sees him peel back layers of the complex, troubled teenager as his psychology is gradually pieced together to chilling effect.

Graham as his father Eddie, backed by Christine Temarco as his mother Manda, turn in such raw performances as parents coming to terms with the fate of their son. The final episode is where they shine the most, the show’s question of how the youth these days are influenced extensively by toxic spaces they are exposed to online haunting the heartbroken parents (and perhaps all the members of the audience watching who are parents of digital natives).

The second episode, while not as tightly woven as the rest, reveals a whole other environment altogether — the public school system, where bullying easily takes place online, right under adults’ noses. It is frustrating to watch Ashley Walter as initially oblivious Detective Luke Bascombe, himself a parent of a child also in Jamie’s school, struggle to understand the youth’s seemingly alien language.

All of this comes together so brilliantly, with the parents, the therapist, and the detective all asking what might have gone wrong with Jamie to be able to do what he did. Ultimately, Adolescence examines how online spaces have become a breeding ground for misogyny, taking advantage of insecurities and fragilities of teenage boys to get them onboard with concepts of toxic masculinity.

Instead of being centered on a trial, like most dramas about killers, this series focuses on how gutting it must be for people in a family and a community to confront how the world tends to fail children. It’s a must-watch for those who want to understand just how bad it could get when there are no guardrails in place for young people navigating spaces online, or consequences for those who espouse harmful behavior.

Adolescence goes beyond the mystery element of true-crime dramas, choosing not to sensationalize the making of a killer, but instead taking a close look at how families and communities (unwittingly) have a hand in it, and later cope with the fact when it’s already too late.