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selenakAdolescence: British miniseries in four episodes, conceived and written by Stephen Graham (who also plays one of the key roles) and Jack Thorne, directed by Philip Barantini, who, as the review of the Guardian put it, must be a glutton for one take punishment, because one very noteworthy element of this miniseries is that each of these four episodes is filmed in one uncut take. Now despite watching a lot of movies and tv, long takes aren't something I immediately notice, and sometimes only after they were pointed out by someone else, but not here, because the long take that starts with the episode and ends with the episode (meaning each of the four episodes are "in real time" is thematically highly relevant and not a fancy gimmick - it really heightens that sense of claustrophobia and intimacy, feeling locked up with the characters it depicts.
The cast is terrific, both the adults and the young cast, with the three outstanding teens being fifteen years old Owen Cooper playing thirteen years old Jamie Miller (who "only" appears on screen in two episodes but is much talked about in the other two), Amelie Pease who plays his older sister Lisa and Fatima Bojang as Jade, the best friend of Katie, the girl whose murder kicks off the plot. Now this miniseries is explicitly not a whodunit - the only episode in which that is even a question is the first one, when we follow Jamie being arrested in the povs of both the leading detectives and his father (played by Stephen Graham) who is horrified and of course believes his son's "I didn't do anything" denials - but a "whydunit" - i.e. why would a thirteen years old boy kill his female classmate of the same age? And the miniseries goes out of its way to avoid clichés and simple answers. (Or give the audience an "it couldn't happen in our family" out.) Jamie's family is not a dysfunctional one, nor are one or both of his parents evil. They also clearly love him (and his sister, this is also isn't a family where only one kid gets all the attention). They're not rich, both parents work not just because they want to but because they have to, but neither are they poor. And Jamie isn't Damien from Omen or another version of the evil kid who immediately is signaled to be an evil cuckoo by behaving creepily. As for the police side of things, they're not bullying or manipulating, they're acting fairly. (Though regular procedures are still chilling enough when applied to a 13 years old.)
(They do get across as more competent and fair an institution than the school, which is highlighted in the second episode, where the teachers tend to be either overworked or indifferent, putting the kids in front of videos, and where even the well meaning (but overworked) teachers are not able to stop the bullying among the kids other than if it happens immediately in front of them.)
The third episode, which is a session of Jamie and one of the two psychologists assigned to him, played by Erin Doherty, building a profile and ascertaining for the court he's capable of understanding what he's blamed for, is in an outstanding miniseries the outstanding episode, taking mostly place in a single room (with the exception of Briony* the psychologist's arrival) and relying on two actors, one of them a teenage boy, to carry it - and it's breathtaking and shattering. In the fourth episode, we catch up with the Miller family and see the long term effect that what has happened is having on them. If in the first episode the emphasis was on the father, that's where we get to know the mother and sister better, though the father continues to be important. Not least because the entire miniseries of course investigates the way masculinity is presented, how online radicalisation and rl interaction feed into each other, and the widening gap of realities between generations - in the second episode, Detective Bascombe realizes the police have interpreted the comments on Jamie's instagram account completely wrong only after his own son clues him in.
Now, it's not that the show says "the internet made him do it" as a modern update to "the devil", either, but it shows various interlocking factors, and also that the result doesn't have to be inevitable. There are other kids with similar problems who don't become murderers. But social media and the darknet certainly get a considerable part of the blame in how Jamie disappeared into a toxic bubble of male entitlement and grievance and violent repercussions. And yet keeps being a kid drawing a birthday card. It's four hours of intense feelings and, as I said, no easy solutions. In the emotional climax of the last episode, Jamie's parents still wonder whether they could have prevented this, how their son whom they loved and still love could have done this. It's just a superb creation, engaging with one of the most painful subjects imaginable in a sensitive yet unflinching manner, and I highly reccommend it.
*Among many other things, Briony was a refreshingly competent and professional psychiatrist in tv land. She didn't try to be Jamie's best friend, she didn't put her own conclusions in his mouth, she kept her professional manner no matter whether he was shouting abuse at her or trying to get her approval, and only at the end, once Jamie had left, did we see how she really felt.
Daredevil ?.04: Okay, the "We build this city" school choir was hysterical, and had me giggling for hours afterwards. On the more serious side, the spoilery encounter was superbly played by both actors.
Wheel of Time 3.04.: Awesome aesthetics. Moraine's visions felt like bad LSD trips (says she who never took any) and I hope for someone to have made detailed caps so one can admire and analyze all the costumes and scenarios; Rand's visions which gave us a guided tour through the history of the Aeil (spelling?) felt poignant, and showcased the actor's ability - who played all the characters - more than anything Rand himself has done so far. Having the Aeil and the Tuatha Dannan (I'm sure I'm getting this name wrong, but my vague memories of Irish folklore keep interfering) have the same origin was an excellent twist, and going back even further to a just-pre-Forsaken Lanfear/Miriel triggering what I presume was the event that allowed The Dark One to show up was v.v. intriguing. Storywise, it's also a clever device to allow Rand to emotionally connect with the Aeil that goes beyond being told they are his biological people of origin.
The cast is terrific, both the adults and the young cast, with the three outstanding teens being fifteen years old Owen Cooper playing thirteen years old Jamie Miller (who "only" appears on screen in two episodes but is much talked about in the other two), Amelie Pease who plays his older sister Lisa and Fatima Bojang as Jade, the best friend of Katie, the girl whose murder kicks off the plot. Now this miniseries is explicitly not a whodunit - the only episode in which that is even a question is the first one, when we follow Jamie being arrested in the povs of both the leading detectives and his father (played by Stephen Graham) who is horrified and of course believes his son's "I didn't do anything" denials - but a "whydunit" - i.e. why would a thirteen years old boy kill his female classmate of the same age? And the miniseries goes out of its way to avoid clichés and simple answers. (Or give the audience an "it couldn't happen in our family" out.) Jamie's family is not a dysfunctional one, nor are one or both of his parents evil. They also clearly love him (and his sister, this is also isn't a family where only one kid gets all the attention). They're not rich, both parents work not just because they want to but because they have to, but neither are they poor. And Jamie isn't Damien from Omen or another version of the evil kid who immediately is signaled to be an evil cuckoo by behaving creepily. As for the police side of things, they're not bullying or manipulating, they're acting fairly. (Though regular procedures are still chilling enough when applied to a 13 years old.)
(They do get across as more competent and fair an institution than the school, which is highlighted in the second episode, where the teachers tend to be either overworked or indifferent, putting the kids in front of videos, and where even the well meaning (but overworked) teachers are not able to stop the bullying among the kids other than if it happens immediately in front of them.)
The third episode, which is a session of Jamie and one of the two psychologists assigned to him, played by Erin Doherty, building a profile and ascertaining for the court he's capable of understanding what he's blamed for, is in an outstanding miniseries the outstanding episode, taking mostly place in a single room (with the exception of Briony* the psychologist's arrival) and relying on two actors, one of them a teenage boy, to carry it - and it's breathtaking and shattering. In the fourth episode, we catch up with the Miller family and see the long term effect that what has happened is having on them. If in the first episode the emphasis was on the father, that's where we get to know the mother and sister better, though the father continues to be important. Not least because the entire miniseries of course investigates the way masculinity is presented, how online radicalisation and rl interaction feed into each other, and the widening gap of realities between generations - in the second episode, Detective Bascombe realizes the police have interpreted the comments on Jamie's instagram account completely wrong only after his own son clues him in.
Now, it's not that the show says "the internet made him do it" as a modern update to "the devil", either, but it shows various interlocking factors, and also that the result doesn't have to be inevitable. There are other kids with similar problems who don't become murderers. But social media and the darknet certainly get a considerable part of the blame in how Jamie disappeared into a toxic bubble of male entitlement and grievance and violent repercussions. And yet keeps being a kid drawing a birthday card. It's four hours of intense feelings and, as I said, no easy solutions. In the emotional climax of the last episode, Jamie's parents still wonder whether they could have prevented this, how their son whom they loved and still love could have done this. It's just a superb creation, engaging with one of the most painful subjects imaginable in a sensitive yet unflinching manner, and I highly reccommend it.
*Among many other things, Briony was a refreshingly competent and professional psychiatrist in tv land. She didn't try to be Jamie's best friend, she didn't put her own conclusions in his mouth, she kept her professional manner no matter whether he was shouting abuse at her or trying to get her approval, and only at the end, once Jamie had left, did we see how she really felt.
Daredevil ?.04: Okay, the "We build this city" school choir was hysterical, and had me giggling for hours afterwards. On the more serious side, the spoilery encounter was superbly played by both actors.
Wheel of Time 3.04.: Awesome aesthetics. Moraine's visions felt like bad LSD trips (says she who never took any) and I hope for someone to have made detailed caps so one can admire and analyze all the costumes and scenarios; Rand's visions which gave us a guided tour through the history of the Aeil (spelling?) felt poignant, and showcased the actor's ability - who played all the characters - more than anything Rand himself has done so far. Having the Aeil and the Tuatha Dannan (I'm sure I'm getting this name wrong, but my vague memories of Irish folklore keep interfering) have the same origin was an excellent twist, and going back even further to a just-pre-Forsaken Lanfear/Miriel triggering what I presume was the event that allowed The Dark One to show up was v.v. intriguing. Storywise, it's also a clever device to allow Rand to emotionally connect with the Aeil that goes beyond being told they are his biological people of origin.
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Date: 2025-03-23 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-24 09:48 am (UTC)