Last night I slammed my way through all four episodes of Adolesence, Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham‘s British miniseries that’s been streaming on Netflix since 3.13.25.
It’s basically about a mood of anti-female malevolence and hostility among young teenage males, and about how it’s all hidden or simmering under the surface, and as such doesn’t feel especially real or recognizable, or at least not to me and my understanding of things.
Yes, teenage knifings have become a thing in England over the last two or three years but the Andrew Tate manosphere — toxic masculinity, bullying, incel inferences — carries a very weird vibe, and I didn’t know what to do with it. What’s wrong with these fucking kids? What’s gotten into their blood? What’s the disease?
All four episodes are “oners” — real time, no cuts. The first thing I asked myself was “how would these episodes play if they’d been shot in the usual way?”, and the answer, I told myself, was that they’d feel more tightly focused and concise and perhaps more dramatically affecting. That’s not to say I found the “oner” approach unworthy or frustrating, but there is a general feeling of cinematic technique exerting more control than the serving of dramatic basics.
The strongest episode by far is part 3, which focuses entirely on a gentle interrogation of Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), a 13 year old accused murderer, by forensic psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty).
There’s a fair amount of dodging and denial on Jamie’s part, as the cops have video of him knifing the deceased victim, Katie, so his evasions and whatnot feel decidedly strange as well as futile. The atmosphere intensifies when Briony asks about Jamie’s sex life, which seems odd in itself as he’s slight and kid-like and tweener-ish. One gradually detects currents of suppressed hostility that are rooted in rejection and whatnot. Jamie’s mood fluctuates between amiable and resentful, wich leads to a sudden, standing-up outburst. The session ends with Briony telling Jamie this will be their final meeting, which triggers anxiety and pleading and then another outburst.
Who is this kid? What’s with the lying and denial? Where has all the “red pill” anger, insecurity and rage come from?
The British slang term “ponce” means a guy who doesn’t behave, dress, or speak in a traditionally male way, especially one who behaves in a very squishy or wimpy way. I think. Ben Kingsley‘s Don Logan used the term a couple of times in Sexy Beast.
