A gripping exploration of youth, digital culture, and the dangers of online radicalization

Review | 'Adolescence': Unravelling the Dark Side of Youth

Rating: ★★★★&frac12; (out of 5)
In a world where the digital space often feels like the last frontier of unchecked expression, Adolescence&nbsp;offers a chilling, yet poignant, meditation on the harsh realities of growing up in the 21st century. Directed by Philip Barantini and helmed by a sharp script from Jack Thorne, this gripping four-episode Netflix miniseries does not merely paint a portrait of adolescence&mdash;it rips apart the illusion of safety that once defined youth, revealing the sinister influence of modern online culture.
The story is simple in its premise, but deeply complex in execution: Jamie Miller (played with heartbreaking restraint by Owen Cooper), a seemingly average 13-year-old, is accused of murdering a classmate. As the investigation unfolds, the audience is pulled into a vortex of emotions, questions, and uncomfortable truths about the malleability of young minds. The series invites us to look at the digital spaces where these boys&mdash;so impressionable, so vulnerable&mdash;are radicalized by misogynistic influences.
Cooper&rsquo;s performance as Jamie is nothing short of a revelation.&nbsp;
His &ldquo;chess match&rdquo; with psychologist Briony Ariston&nbsp;(The Crown&rsquo;s Erin Doherty)&nbsp;will go down as one of the most gripping pieces of television ever produced in the West. It proves that a lot can be achieved with nothing more than two people talking in a room. The drama, like a shaken fizzy drink, erupts in your face.
While Jamie&rsquo;s bravado borders on the terrifying (Doherty has called his transformation&nbsp; from Episode 1&rsquo;s&nbsp; terrified child &ldquo;genuinely scary&rdquo;), Cooper&rsquo;s nuanced portrayal never lets us forget that beneath the bluster lies a child worn down by low self-esteem and a deep-seated desire to be liked. His internal chaos is palpable, and as the plot unravels, we are forced to confront the hidden factors that may have led to this moment. Balancing subtlety and intensity, Cooper anchors the show&rsquo;s emotional weight with remarkable depth.
Ariston starts by bringing half a sandwich she had saved for Jamie, and ends the episode too disgusted to even touch it after Jamie takes a bite&mdash;underscoring the change in focus from who&nbsp;did it to why&nbsp;it was done.
Jamie doesn&rsquo;t come from what could be described as a difficult background. His mother and father are, as the saying goes, stereotypically &ldquo;normal&rdquo;. So what leads to his involvement in a gruesome crime? The show cleverly points to a particular kind of hyper-masculine content glorified in the &ldquo;manosphere&rdquo; &mdash;&ldquo;Andrew Tate shite&rdquo; as one character puts it in Episode 2&mdash;that is anything but positive, especially among UK teens. The show also points to how this content is hiding in plain sight, using texts and emojis that are so common yet function as dogwhistles&mdash;easy to miss for most,&nbsp;especially parents, but instantly recognizable to the young audience they target.
<a href="https://www.benefitnews.in/culture/-adolescence-and-the-dangers-of-online-misogyny/8657" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Also see: Adolescence and the Dangers of Online Misogyny</a>
In addition to Doherty, the supporting cast, notably Stephen Graham as Eddie, Jamie&rsquo;s well-meaning but flawed father, and Ashley Walters as Detective Inspector Bascombe, complement Cooper&rsquo;s performance beautifully.&nbsp;DI Bascombe&rsquo;s attempts to reconnect with his own son, who faces many of the same issues as Jamie, quietly highlight the importance of parental connection in the face of bullying.
Barantini&rsquo;s decision to shoot the series as one continuous take per episode is a bold and effective choice. In the age of quick cuts and flashy editing, Adolescence&nbsp;slows everything down. The viewer is made to sit in the discomfort of the moment, to experience every second as it unfolds. The fluidity of the shots adds an organic quality to the story, reflecting the unstoppable, cascading nature of online radicalization. The digital realm, much like the world of the show, is relentless in its influence.
The pacing, however, will not be to everyone&rsquo;s taste. Some moments drag, especially when the series delves into its more introspective beats. The choice to linger in certain scenes&mdash;the silence between characters, the weight of unspoken words&mdash;can feel excessive at times, but this is a calculated risk. The intent is clear: to show just how difficult it is for Jamie to escape his internal world of confusion and rage.
The score, composed by Liam White, is minimalistic but haunting, never overpowering but always present, weaving in and out of the narrative like a creeping sense of unease. It complements the show&rsquo;s atmosphere beautifully, matching the bleakness of Jamie&rsquo;s situation with an underlying hum of despair.
Where Adolescence truly excels is in its restrained depiction of harmful online influences. Rather than explicit portrayals or graphic content, the series uses suggestion and implication to convey how digital spaces affect Jamie. The show never directly shows the murder or explicitly details the extremist content Jamie encounters. Instead, it relies on subtle cues, conversations, and Jamie's changing behaviour to illustrate the impact of these influences. This understated approach makes the series all the more powerful, leaving viewers to connect the dots themselves. By focusing on Jamie's emotional journey rather than sensationalizing the content he consumes, the show creates a more thought-provoking examination of how young minds can be shaped by what they encounter online.
The show&rsquo;s female characters, while essential to the plot, often feel underdeveloped compared to their male counterparts. In any other show, this could have been a shortcoming. Here, it feels more like a deliberate choice&mdash;perhaps reflecting how, in Jamie&rsquo;s world, women&rsquo;s perspectives are often sidelined or overlooked. Rather than a missed opportunity, this absence itself becomes a commentary on the gendered dynamics at play, subtly reinforcing the show&rsquo;s exploration of masculinity and its consequences.&nbsp;
Adolescence&nbsp;is not an easy watch. But it is a rare one. It&rsquo;s a challenging, disturbing, and thought-provoking miniseries that pulls no punches. Yet, it balances brutal honesty with empathy, offering a scathing critique of online culture without resorting to facile judgments. Beneath its portrayal of youth in the digital age lies a deeper exploration of the forces shaping them. It is also a necessary conversation starter about where we are headed as a society and how we might better protect future generations from the dangers lurking in the shadows of the internet.

Episode 3 will go down as one of the most gripping pieces of television ever produced in the West

26 मार्च 2025 | 10:39 IST

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