3 days ago
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Netflix's "Adolescence" doesn't have a marketing, advertising and PR budget the way something like "The Electric State" has. Instead, it has impressive word of mouth, a bit like "Baby Reindeer."
Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston and Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in streaming’s current biggest hit. PHOTO FROM NETFLIX
Unlike big products that start off with many viewers and then have that viewership jump off a cliff, "Adolescence's" audience nearly doubled after its first week. According to "Variety," it now holds the record for the best ever two-week total for a limited series.
"Adolescence" is a tough watch. It's been described as gutting, disturbing, unsettling and heartbreaking.
A 13-year-old boy, Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), has been accused of murder, the audience follows four continuous shot episodes getting into the lives of Jamie and his family.
There are no marquee A-listers in this cast, but the acting is definitely A+. The sets do not look designed, there are no "costumes," just everyday clothes, there's no special makeup. The one continuous shot per episode is done so brilliantly. While it takes a lot to set it up, it successfully makes this series look and feel so real.
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The show is co-created and co-written by Jack Thorne (who wrote the Netflix hits "Enola Holmes" and the more serious and current "Toxic Town") and Stephen Graham. I just knew Stephen Graham from "Peaky Blinders," "Boardwalk Empire" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." While he wrote for a series called "Boiling Point," his work on "Adolescence" with Thorne is superlative. Graham also plays Jamie's father, Eddie.
The most talked about episode is the third (of four) where child psychologist Britony Ariston ("The Crown's" Erin Doherty) interviews Jamie. It's absolutely chilling, he goes from awkward, confused child to an angry, scary man — sort of like seeing Bilbo shift when he wants the ring from Frodo in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring."
The things Jamie says and how he treats Briony is chilling. I was floored by Cooper who must have had to go very scary places in his head to pull this off.
According to "The Guardian," Thorne and Graham wanted to "look in the eye of male rage." Graham was quite aware of the reports of deadly knife crimes committed by teenage boys against girls. He asked, "What is going on in our society where this kind of thing is becoming a regular occurrence?"
Everyone is accountable, and who knows if the discomfort will lead to some change. Stephen Graham has lots of projects coming up, for one, he'll be playing Dutch Springsteen, the late father of Bruce Springsteen, in "Deliver Me From Nowhere."
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Fans of movies about musicians, be it biopics or documentaries, can still catch director Diane Ventura's "Eraserheads: Combo on the Run." After over 30 years together, there truly is quite a story to tell, with unexpected turns for the both band and the Philippines that brought us to the moment of reunion show in 2022 and beyond.
