We all watch the news. A child commits a crime. Kills another student or students. Indignation flames the accusations. Who is to blame? It must be the parent’s fault, right? To find the truth, we must first slip into the shoes that belong to the parent of a juvenile murderer. The walk will be soul-crushing, but the shoes must be worn.
Adolescence
Adolescence is a heart-breaking British crime drama created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham. Directed by Philip Barantini, the show stars Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Faye Marsay, Erin Doherty, Christine Tremarco, Mark Stanley, and Owen Cooper. The series centers around a 13-year-old boy, Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), who is arrested for the murder of a girl in his school. His father, Eddie (Stephen Graham), mother, Manda (Christine Tremarco) and his older sister, Lisa (Amelie Pease) are jarringly awoken in the early hours as the British version of a Swat Team crash through their front door.
Adolescence has four episodes, and in the first one, we experience the shock of the parents who must rush to the police station where their son is being held. Jamie is treated respectfully by both arresting officers, DI Lucke Bascome (Ashley Walters) and DS Misha Frank (Faye Marsay). They advise the child to remain silent until the lawyer (Mark Stanley) and Jamie’s father are advised of the charges. Jamie constantly claims that he doesn’t know what is happening…but you see…video tapes don’t lie.
The following three episodes follow Bascombe’s and Frank’s investigation of a motive and the search for the weapon. It is the information, or should I say the lack of willing information from the students…which helps our detectives learn about the extreme bullying situation that the victim incited against Jamie before the incident.
Conclusion
Stephen Graham, as Jamie’s dad, has, with surgical precision, captured the horror and pain of what it must feel like to know that your only son not only planned but murdered another child. Owen Cooper is an excellent young actor who convincingly plays his part as a confused teenager trying to understand the mystifying world of identity and masculinity. Does Jamie understand the seriousness of the crime, I found myself asking throughout the four episodes.
Thirteen is so young. Is the brain of a thirteen-year-old boy even able to fathom the seriousness of death? I can tell you from experience with my three grandsons…that a thirteen-year-old boy will constantly keep their parents in a state of shock with their dumb-ass antics. I’m surprised that my daughter didn’t have a nervous breakdown with some of the drama her three boys caused her…like climbing the roof of her house and diving two stories down into the backyard pool or practicing Parkour by jumping from rooftop to rooftop of their neighbourhood. And I’m only telling you the crazy shit we know about, right?
It isn’t until Jamie talks to a court-appointed therapist (Erin Doherty) that Jamie realizes his crime and the domino effect that led to such an unforgivable act. I will warn you that these scenes are highly upsetting.
Who do we blame when a child goes wrong? Is it the parents? In this case, I would say no…but Jamie’s parents do blame themselves, and so do their neighbours, who constantly harass them. Is it the school system, where children feel unheard, and bullying is unseen because now you can bully someone via social media?
Do we blame the societal images of masculinity that encourage boys to behave violently and aggressively? If you don’t believe me about toxic masculinity, then maybe you need to watch the news or TikTok, where men speak disparaging and denigrating of girls and women. Young boys are watching how adult men treat other men, women and children. They learn from us.
You can remove those shoes now.
The weight of them is unbearable, right?
Adolescence is not only an outstanding, well-written and performed mini-series; it is a timely mirror that reflects the truth on what and how our children learn from us.
Adolescence is on Netflix.
