Adolescence
Netflix 2025 - TV-MA4.9 out of 5
This appears to be about a young boy of 13 accused and arrested for murder, his ordeal, the inside fight of the family to hold together, and the boy's resulting turmoil and interactions with the authorities. That's the plot, yes, but this unearths so much more. This is a highly rehearsed, intricately planned, and masterfully produced fiction that never feels like that. It's closer to documentary than most documentaries. And I'm pretty sure it's creating a new genre, the "Unishot". Accomplished with the technical expertise of a digital work, but all physically created in real time, each episode was shot in a single take of the camera, no editing, no cuts, without special effects; a must-do or start over. This very method of film making is what renders the heightened state of realism. While many times an audience versed in film language might at first ask why a person walking is taking so long, or having no break in an awkward silence is necessary, those questions are more than likely soon silenced as the work unfolds and we are drawn in.
One executive producer, Stephen Graham, is also the Dad in the series, and he, along with all of the other characters, deliver spot-on performances that are amazing each in their own right, editing or no. Sure to win awards and escalate the careers of the actors, the feelings are real, and the tears are real. The anxiety level elevates at the start and never lets up. At the end of the 3rd episode, I immediately clicked the "next episode" button and did not move from my spot until the very finish.
The subject/s at hand? Well, present-day adolescence, the 1st world social scene, the failure of technology, the insidious nature of the human being when left in ignorance without proper nurture and love, the failure of public institutions in the face of technology, the generational chasm, the crumbling of the social structure, the devastating psychological effects of shame and comparison, the loss of control and discipline that is causing public school systems to be more like prisons, and...the loss of respect. That's all. Just that stuff. I'm not going to go out of my depth here and write about any of that. Instead, I'll say that this is one of those media experiences that should, at the very least, awaken our sensitivities to these current and urgent issues that are interlinked. This is a real, laser-accurate portrait of our current crises, literally unblinking, and exposed raw. It works on so many levels. Musical soundtrack is short, and minimal, but hauntingly perfect.
- Agitatus
This appears to be about a young boy of 13 accused and arrested for murder, his ordeal, the inside fight of the family to hold together, and the boy's resulting turmoil and interactions with the authorities. That's the plot, yes, but this unearths so much more. This is a highly rehearsed, intricately planned, and masterfully produced fiction that never feels like that. It's closer to documentary than most documentaries. And I'm pretty sure it's creating a new genre, the "Unishot".
