This article is part of a three-part series breaking down the technical and thematic aspects of the Netflix series 'Adolescence". Read Debanjan Dhar's "The Nightmare That is School" and Tatsam Mukherjee's "Parenting as a Horror Story"
바카라I should바카라ve killed her, but I didn바카라t,바카라 a flustered Jamie tells Briony Ariston, the clinical psychologist. Briony has just asked him if he ever called his classmate, Katie Leonard, out for calling him an 바카라incel바카라 on social media. 바카라She바카라s a bitch, even you can see that,바카라 he says, frustrated with attempts to make Briony believe his words.
He begins to say, 바카라All I did ... all I did was...바카라 and suddenly, his expression switches. From a shot of the two, the camera slowly zooms in on Jamie. His unnerved face breaks into a sneer. 바카라Look at you. All hopeful like I바카라m going to say something important,바카라 he says with an impish grin. He tells her about Katie rejecting his proposal for a date and asks, 바카라You think she was a bitch, right? Doing all that?바카라
The camera slowly begins to move towards Briony. While Jamie goes on to recount what he did on the fateful night that Katie was murdered, the camera stays fixed on her face. Briony is pale and aghast, listening to this 13-year-old describe his intentions towards a fellow female classmate. 바카라I could have touched any part of her body. I wanted to, but I didn바카라t. Most boys would바카라ve touched her. So that makes me better. Don바카라t you think?바카라 he asks her. As Briony tries to appear composed again, Jamie turns away and bites into a sandwich.
Directed by Philip Barantini, Adolescence is a tale that explores the dilemmas of what lies within our control and without. In every issue it addresses바카라children바카라s exposure to misogyny, incel culture, parenting, schooling바카라the motif of control remains a constant.
The psychological confrontation between Briony Ariston and Jamie Miller and the way their conversation unfolds is also dominated by this motif. At every juncture that Jamie feels threatened and vulnerable with Briony바카라s questions, he covers his emotions up with bouts of violent rage, mocking and attempting to physically intimidate her.
Briony, on the other hand, has to deal with the formidable challenge of remaining calm and dispassionate in her approach; even with the awareness that her being a woman is encouraging Jamie바카라s misogynistic jeering. However, what unnerves Briony even more than Jamie바카라s deep-seated disdain for her gender, is his vulnerability and desperation for validation as a boy struggling to become a man. When she suddenly declares that this session is her final one, Jamie바카라s startled anguish breaks her heart. As objective as she tries to remain throughout the session, she finally gives in to her emotions when he asks her, 바카라Do you like me?바카라
This question of control becomes the premise of the aesthetic form of this limited series as well, complementing the conceptual thematic of its content. It is evident right from the first episode that is designed as a procedural. The entire sequence바카라where Jamie is arrested from his home by DI Bascombe, taken to the police station, told his rights, given a lawyer, medically checked and then taken into interrogation바카라is shot with clinical precision. There is no scope for mistakes. The fact that each episode is filmed in a single take adds to the camera바카라s surgical accuracy. It follows every individual who is involved in the process, articulating their role alongside their emotions as it rolls.
And yet, a dent appears in this perfection. An overspill materialises from the calculated turn of events, as nothing prepares either party바카라be it the police officers or Jamie and his family, particularly his father, Eddie바카라for what transpires in the interrogation room. Jamie begins to respond to the questions as he has been trained by his lawyer바카라바카라no comment바카라 is what he is instructed to say, when asked a question about the night of the murder.
However, as evidence unfolds and the conversation goes forward, Jamie바카라s naive attempts to outsmart the police officer crumble like a house of cards. The confidence that Eddie displays about his son바카라s innocence, right up to the point that the CCTV footage of the murder is shown, comes crashing down the moment the footage is played. But the other side doesn바카라t remain untouched by the chain of events either; a close-up reveals the genuine perplexity and pity in DI Bascombe바카라s face, as he transforms his previous, icy tone of questioning to gentle imploring, asking Jamie to explain his actions. No matter how much he has prepared to deal with the situation, his shock and horror at an adolescent바카라s actions are betrayed when the murder is actually seen. No adult in the room emerges unscathed from the trauma of the visuals, or the interrogation.
This constant back and forth with the element of control over the series underlines the question of accountability in Adolescence. Undoing the idea of isolating an individual for their criminal tendencies, it throws a spotlight on the role of various oppressive social structures that shape an individual바카라s action, especially when they바카라re at a tender age. Who presides over these structures, how young minds interpret them and where to begin dismantling their control, then become the haunting, real-life questions that the viewer takes away from this unsettling piece of fiction.
Apeksha Priyadarshini is Senior Copy Editor, Outlook. She writes on cinema, art, politics, gender & social justice.
This article is part of Outlook바카라s April 21, 2025 issue 'Adolescence' which looks at the forces shaping teenage boys today바카라online misogyny, incel forums, bullying, and the chaos of the manosphere. It appeared in print as 'In One Shot.'
