I wonder if you already watched ADOLESCENCE on Netflix, because it’s been the talk everywhere. This title came to be as a recommendation from a friend, she said I should watch this limited series because it’s really good. They do only one take for each episode, no cut, every dialogue and acting is improvised on the spot. That’s crazy, I thought. So it means that if the actor messes up, they are going to reshoot from the beginning.
Unfortunately, for this review, I could not talk about it without giving you spoilers. It’s best for you to watch this series without knowing anything about the story in advance.{alertError}
So what’s Adolescence is about? It focuses on Jamie Miller, a 13 years old child, the main suspect of murder of a girl named, Kate. The story began with the police raiding him at his house, early in the morning, while Jamie was still on his bed, and his family was about to start their day. In the beginning, Jamie told his father and the police that he did not do it. He even insisted that he was not guilty. But in the end of episode one, we soon find out that he did do it. And the question for the rest of the series remains, why did he do it?
My friend also told me that the point of this series is not about the plot-twists or who-done-it, but more about the characters, the story, the tragedy, and the most terrifying thing is, THIS kind of story exists in our daily lives. Perhaps more so in the western society, because here in Southeast Asia we have different kinds of problems.
This story takes “incel culture” as the central point. Incel is a short for “involuntary celibate” usually a member of an online community of young men who consider themselves unable to attract women sexually, typically associated with views that are hostile toward women and men who are sexually active.
This story also talks about bullying, misogyny, toxic masculinity and toxic internet culture, and their effects on western society today, especially on young kids. There are a lot of video essays talking about this series and the central theme. I recommend you to search for it on YouTube and watch them. Because I couldn’t explain it any better since I don’t grow up and live in western culture nor society.
Aside from the story, technical wise, I think this series is the true cinema. Using the style of one-take shoot, it positioned the viewer as if we are there with the characters, hearing their conversation, getting the information as they do. When I saw the scenes unfold and I could not take my eyes off the screen because there was always something going on.
All in all, this series is really well-made and well-performed. Even though I can’t relate a hundred percent with what’s going on in the west, but I could still appreciate the storytelling and the technique they use to tell the story.
I heard they also did a deep research to make this series and it really shows how well it turns out.
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