Adolesence could possibly do more to prevent knife crime and address several of the issues facing youth in the UK than any government campaign to date. I watch a lot of TV for work but have never been left as shaken by a show as I was by Adolesence. From the very opening scenes the horror sets in when you realise how plausible this is and the magnitude of what has happened. The police raid a home, smashing in the door, not in search of a criminal mastermind but rather a 13-year-old boy Jamie Miller (played by an excellent Owen Cooper). He cowers in his bedroom as he is dragged away while his parents Eddie (Stephen Graham) and Manda (Christine Tremarco), try to comprehend what is happening.
He is accused of stabbing a young girl to death and Eddie desperately wants to believe his son’s innocence until some damning CCTV footage is revealed. The victim, Katie, was stabbbed seven times in a brutal crime that seems so at odds with the baby faced and tousel haired Jamie who looks far younger than his years. Sadly however it is a scenario that could be all too real given the current .
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Stephen Graham stars in the hard hitting Netflix show Adolesence (Image: Netflix)
The fallout is immense as each episode takes us through events in real time. In a remarkable feat of filmmaking each episode is filmed in just one shot meaning there is no respite from the discomfort on screen.
Jamie’s arrest is a juxtaposition of almost sweet moments where his welfare is considered as they enquire if he has had breakfast and more hardcore scenes, such as where his father has to stand by as his son is strip searched. Obviously they don’t show the search on screen but by focusing on the reactions of Eddie and the others in the room you truly understand what a horrible experience it is.
The second episode sees detectives visiting Jamie and Katie’s school where the reverberations of the murder have taken hold despite teachers best efforts. It is clear there is a huge amount of toxicity amongst the peer groups and that social media and the “manosphere” have been hugely influential on these young people.
While Andrew Tate is mentioned his influence is not overplayed however the effects of “influencers” like him on young men is clearly seen in episode three when Jamie, now in custody and awaiting trial, has a visit from a child psychologist Briony Ariston (The Crown star Erin Doherty).
He veers from sweet young child to truly intimidating monster as he stands over her threateningly. Disturbingly we learn he had asked Katie out on a date because he perceived her as “weak” and vulnerable because a nude image of her chest had been being circulated amongst the boys at school. She had sent it to one boy and it had been bandied about without her consent. He pushes Briony about her feelings towards him asking if she likes him, becoming agitated when she won’t answer in the affirmitive. Briony is left shaken and tearful when he is returned to his cell and I was right there with her. It is a horrific, but extremely powerful, scene that also left me shaking with it’s sheer visceralness.
Jamie shows his darker side when interviewed by child psychologist Briony in Adolescence (Image: Netflix)
The final episode is probably the most impactful as we see the effect the crime has had on Jamie’s family. Eddie questions what he did wrong. But the reality is both he and Jamie’s mother are just normal parents who did nothing that might make their son stray down the path he did. They are not raging alcoholics or drug addicts and they are not abusive.
There is no stereotype here. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen in a normal, hard working family, where the children are loved an cared for. But it sadly does.
They are targeted by people who feel they must share some responsibility and suffer hugely from the stigma of Jamie’s actions. When Eddie breaks down on his son’s bed distraught at the magnitude of everything that has happened it is truly heartbreaking.
This is one of the most thought provoking pieces of television you will see this year. It has already opened a dialogue about the “whys” of knife crime. Indeed it appears to have done more to highlight the issue in just a few days than anything done by official outlets in years.
It is elequent and audacious in it’s portrayal of the reality of knife crime. It doesn’t just ruin the lives of the victim and perpetrator. The consequences are far reaching. But watching the reaity of the aftermath may well make a youngster think twice before they brandish a blade. The government could do worse than make this required viewing in schools.