Television Adolescence (Netflix)

crappycraperson

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New UK based series out on Netflix with 4 episodes, each shot in a single take. One of the best series I have watched this year. Emotionally harrowing.
 
crappycraperson said:
New UK based series out on Netflix with 4 episodes, each shot in a single take. One of the best series I have watched this year. Emotionally harrowing.
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Thought it was brilliant, binge watched it last night. The fact each episode is shot in a single take is a detriment to the quality of actors/actresses in this.
 
Getting some of the best reviews I can recall any TV show getting. Looking forward to watching it.
 
pascell said:
Thought it was brilliant, binge watched it last night. The fact each episode is shot in a single take is a detriment to the quality of actors/actresses in this.
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I think quite the opposite, in regards to the detriment comment. The fact its all done in one take and it's created the product it has is a testament to them, and the cameramen too. It was two guys just passing the camera to each other apparently.
The shot where they went from the school, into the air and then met Stephen Graham at the crime scene was incredible, seamless.

How do you blur text instead of spoiler it?

If I want to see Stephen Graham or the mum or that psychiatrist perform a perfect take, I've got plenty of other shows to go and watch.

The young lad had never acted before, hadn't been through drama school or anything either. He did brilliantly. You can see the little mistakes every so often but the fact he just picked up and carried on. Brilliant.
 
Watching this tonight. Looks really good on the trailer
 
This was really heavy. I thought it might have shown the victim's family, I don't know if it was self-criticism when the female detective said "these things are always about the perpetrator, not the victim".
 
In the last episode you can see the cameraman in the wing mirror of the van when the Mrs shuts the door. In black, with a black mask covering his face.
 
Bubz27 said:
I think quite the opposite, in regards to the detriment comment. The fact its all done in one take and it's created the product it has is a testament to them, and the cameramen too. It was two guys just passing the camera to each other apparently.
The shot where they went from the school, into the air and then met Stephen Graham at the crime scene was incredible, seamless.

How do you blur text instead of spoiler it?

If I want to see Stephen Graham or the mum or that psychiatrist perform a perfect take, I've got plenty of other shows to go and watch.

The young lad had never acted before, hadn't been through drama school or anything either. He did brilliantly. You can see the little mistakes every so often but the fact he just picked up and carried on. Brilliant.
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Apologies, I meant testament, I'll blame the lack of sleep binge watching the series!
 
pascell said:
Apologies, I meant testament, I'll blame the lack of sleep binge watching the series!
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Fair enough. I kind of got what you might have meant, that they were so good even having to do it all in one take.
 
Is it the same team that made Boiling Point or pure coincidence that Stephen Graham is in both? (The single take thing)
 
Stephen Graham is the man (and the kid hold his own spectacularly). That was brilliantly agonizing.

I just feel the need to put something lighter after this. This was really heavy though with a heartbreaking finale. The topic is so important though and pretty much a must watch.
 
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Their are saying this is once in a decade type of series. I will watch it soon.
 
Started off well and made for harrowing viewing. Stephen Graham really is an incredible actor. The young lad in it was decent for an acting debut.

Felt it finished too early - wanted to see the outcome. Left with too many questions.

Overall it was ok, but definitely left wanting more from the story.
 
Saw someone on tiktok raving about this. And the first comment said something about "don't bother, it doesn't go anywhere, doesn't give you any conclusion".

I'm afraid after a very promising 1st episode i'd go more with the 2nd comment than the reviewer.
The first episode had some sort of mystique about what's gone on, did the kid do it etc. Then you see the clip and that's the answer really and lost a lot after that for me.
 
Heardy said:
Started off well and made for harrowing viewing. Stephen Graham really is an incredible actor. The young lad in it was decent for an acting debut.

Felt it finished too early - wanted to see the outcome. Left with too many questions.

Overall it was ok, but definitely left wanting more from the story.
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This is it for me too.
Once you'd got your answer about whether the kid did it or not, you needed to see the final outcome. But it felt revealing that at the end of episode 1 was way too early.
 
Heardy said:
Started off well and made for harrowing viewing. Stephen Graham really is an incredible actor. The young lad in it was decent for an acting debut.

Felt it finished too early - wanted to see the outcome. Left with too many questions.

Overall it was ok, but definitely left wanting more from the story.
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I agree it finished too early but I assume the creators wanted to focus in on the human side of it and for the audience to draw their own conclusions. I said before that the victim's perspective merited an episode.

Sandikan said:
Saw someone on tiktok raving about this. And the first comment said something about "don't bother, it doesn't go anywhere, doesn't give you any conclusion".

I'm afraid after a very promising 1st episode i'd go more with the 2nd comment than the reviewer.
The first episode had some sort of mystique about what's gone on, did the kid do it etc. Then you see the clip and that's the answer really and lost a lot after that for me.
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It doesn't give you a conclusion but that's a typical Gen Z short attention span kind of comment.
 
horsechoker said:
This was really heavy. I thought it might have shown the victim's family, I don't know if it was self-criticism when the female detective said "these things are always about the perpetrator, not the victim".
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I liked this approach. I think most movies/series on similar subject are more oriented to victim's family. But the roller coast on the other side wasn't portrayed so much. As a parent it also carries an extra burden on how much you added to such behavior which is an added misery as you probably run over every second of parenting in your head, every single day.

Oh well, onto Seinfeld!!
 
Jim Beam said:
I liked this approach. I think most movies/series on similar subject are more oriented to victim's family. But the roller coast on the other side wasn't portrayed so much. As a parent it also carries an extra burden on how much you added to such behavior which is an added misery as you probably run over every second of parenting in your head, every single day.

Oh well, onto Seinfeld!!
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I'd agree but we arguably got 2 episodes focusing on the police which is not a perspective that's glanced over.

If the girl really was a bully, I think the family having to acknowledge that their daughter might have been a shitty person could have been similar to the killer's family questioning where they'd gone so wrong with their son but so right with their daughter.

In the end, it's just shit luck.
 
horsechoker said:
I'd agree but we arguably got 2 episodes focusing on the police which is not a perspective that's glanced over.

If the girl really was a bully, I think the family having to acknowledge that their daughter might have been a shitty person could have been similar to the killer's family questioning where they'd gone so wrong with their son but so right with their daughter.

In the end, it's just shit luck.
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Yeah, all fair points.

Not sure if I would say the girl was such a bully. By the standards of that school, there were certainly more problematic kids. With a more stable kid her comments would go without much harm and that was also shit luck.

But it definitely does a good job of pointing out how cruel bullying can be especially with today's use of internet as you can't escape it even at your home. Also, when it comes to bullying I felt most sorry for that detective kid.
 
This is a really good comment from one of the creators explaining on what they were focusing or trying to say along the way.

“One of our main aims is that beautiful saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ We didn’t want to point the blame at anyone specifically or in particular,” he also said according to Dexerto. “We wanted to say we’re all accountable in many ways for this kind of thing, be that parents, teachers, government, society, community.”
 
been thinking about this for the past couple of days because it was so powerful and thought provoking

I think it might be one of the best television dramas I’ve ever seen

The young actor is destined for great things
 
Watched the first episode and it’s incredible. Not a clue how they pulled some of it off.

And yeah, no surprises it is in fact made by the guy who made the Boiling Point film.
 
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horsechoker said:
I agree it finished too early but I assume the creators wanted to focus in on the human side of it and for the audience to draw their own conclusions. I said before that the victim's perspective merited an episode.


It doesn't give you a conclusion but that's a typical Gen Z short attention span kind of comment.
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I wouldn't really even say there isn't a conclusion

he did it, he decides to plead guilty, his family begin to accept it and try to figure out how to live with it. We don't get it all wrapped up neatly but it's pretty clear what happened and why

I suspect the relatively short run time is also down to the one shot nature of it. It must be really challenging to write and produce an hour long episode like that, let alone 4.

Anyway, I really liked it. I felt episodes 1 and 3 were the strongest, I particularly liked the dynamic in 3. I thought that was a very believable depiction of a "good" kid with significant issues under the surface
 
One of the most powerful tv shows I've ever watched. They catch the pain of what the parents go through incredibly.

Won't ruin it for anyone else but the third episode was jaw dropping. Even I was feeling uneasy.
 
Devil81 said:
One of the most powerful tv shows I've ever watched. They catch the pain of what the parents go through incredibly.

Won't ruin it for anyone else but the third episode was jaw dropping. Even I was feeling uneasy.
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Yeah I really enjoyed that episode too. Gave me mindhunter vibes.
 
This was an acting masterclass. Very impressed with how real everything felt.

Also liked how they didn’t rely on twists or shock factor, when they easily could have made the plot more convoluted if they wanted to.
 
Just finished it, so so well done, was in tears at that last scene. Hopefully it'll get a tonne of awards

the last episode I found especially powerful, it showed how so many people became victims that night, I found the impact on his family especially upsetting and how they were suffering. Social media is an absolute poison for children, I'd support a ban to under 16s. It was the fact they thought he was "safe as he was in his room" when probably pre social media/Internet, he would have been, but actually what he could access was more dangerous than what was outside "in the real world"
 
One thing about the first episode (which is the only one I've seen so far).

In the police interview, when the investigator says that they have some CCTV footage to show, the lawyer wanted to take a break and the dad refused. Clearly if they had CCTV it was bad for the kid and the lawyer knew it and wanted to talk to him alone beforehand. I would have expected him to insist on the break rather than go along with the dad and allow the police to catch them so unprepared
 
Unreal how they managed to one shot that second episode in a massive school and make it so believable but the overall plot was a bit lacking compared to episode one. Bit silly with the main detective and his son.
 
Really hard watch. Brilliantly made and everyone is amazing in it but it's just such harrowing as said.
 
Amir said:
One thing about the first episode (which is the only one I've seen so far).

In the police interview, when the investigator says that they have some CCTV footage to show, the lawyer wanted to take a break and the dad refused. Clearly if they had CCTV it was bad for the kid and the lawyer knew it and wanted to talk to him alone beforehand. I would have expected him to insist on the break rather than go along with the dad and allow the police to catch them so unprepared
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That is the downside of having a lawyer called from the police or the one which is on official duty in severe criminal cases/paid by the state. Don't get me wrong, he will do everything to provide you with a good service and protect his clients interest, but he also won't "run through the wall" for you (in lack of better expression).. in fact, they are sometimes annoyed when being called in such cases, especially if it's very early/their free days, etc. Also, father and son's reaction to the video, as bad and shocking as it was, didn't bring new evidence for the court to the police. The kid didn't admit his guilt and his father didn't specifically said it was his son/looked like him which is the thing the lawyer probably wanted to avoid.

Massive Spanner said:
Unreal how they managed to one shot that second episode in a massive school and make it so believable but the overall plot was a bit lacking compared to episode one. Bit silly with the main detective and his son.
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It was the weakest episode for me. Still very good, but not as other three. I thought it was silly how bunch of kids pretty much made fun/ignored or mocked detectives the whole time. It was a severe case and it was not so long ago that the police smashed the kid's house with guns pointing in his head while he was in his bed. Guess it wanted to show how fecked up the school and educational system is, but thought it could have been done a bit better.
 
The one shot stuff can sometimes feel like a gimmick when people do it, but I thought it worked well in this. Particularly in the first and third episodes.
 
Enjoyed it but felt it dragged at points (i.e. in episode 4 when they are driving the van to the shop).

7/10.
 
Sandikan said:
Saw someone on tiktok raving about this. And the first comment said something about "don't bother, it doesn't go anywhere, doesn't give you any conclusion".

I'm afraid after a very promising 1st episode i'd go more with the 2nd comment than the reviewer.
The first episode had some sort of mystique about what's gone on, did the kid do it etc. Then you see the clip and that's the answer really and lost a lot after that for me.
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My daughter felt a bit similar and felt it needed more episodes and twists, I was the complete opposite. This did everything it needed and just felt so real compared to a lot of television now which feels far fetched in areas. This was the opposite, couldn’t feel realer and as somebody with a 14 year old daughter and a 12 year old son it just hit me massively. I’ve watched shows that I’ve enjoyed more but in terms of realism, message and how it made me actually feel, this is honestly up there and a very special show.
 
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