There’s no way this is Owen Cooper’s first time acting in a film or series. The young lad embodied the role of Jamie in this Netflix’s four-episode British crime-drama miniseries like he was reliving a personal experience!
Stephen Graha, who played the character of dad as (Eddie) is incredible in his role interpretation as well.
See, the acting here is superbly flawless through and through from 100% of the actors. If this series does not bag a major award in the next big awards, then I’m not sure what may have gone wrong!
Phew!
I’ll try to keep my reaction to this series as brief as I can
May include spoilers
Some viewers may find this boring or slow, but trust me, it can’t get any better than this! It’s an emotional expression of the inside story of the lives of those involved in a case where a teenager is accused of murder. You don’t expect to have some fireworks going on all over the place or some partying, dancing, eating, or drinking, do you? Naaah! Didn’t think so!
This was as good as it can get! The emotions from the actors were raw. From findings, each episode was a stretch of a one-take shot (this is possibly what may strike as boringness for some). But hey! It’s Netflix! You can decide to watch at a faster speed.
Ashley Walters did an awesome job here as Detective Inspector Bascombe. The dude is an excellent actor.
I loved how this looked at the psychological effects of cases like these on everyone involved in the life & case of the accused: the accused themselves, parents, siblings, friends, neighbours, including professionals such as Police Officers, teachers, Social Workers, Psychologists, etc.
Speaking of Psychologists...Episode 3 was intense! It was uncomfortable to watch at some point. I wasn’t sure whether the lady was allowed to ask those questions. I guess the producers of this show must have done their homework and due diligence. Else they’d have been under the hammer by now cause this involves an underaged child. But she appeared to have been really professional throughout…I give it to her. Her calmness was admirable.
Although they only gave us a glimpse of Katie (the victim), she pretty much was felt throughout the entire series and her friend from episode 2…ah! She did great in her interpretation of that role. I'm not sure why Katie’s family was not visualised, though, but someway, I get it. I get that this is focused on the supposed perpetrator/accused.
It is worthy of note to mention here that a post from Netflix has it that the voice of the singer at the end of Episode 2 was the young lass who played Katie! That was beyond touching. Super solemn & serene.
I can confidently tell you that this is as real as real can be especially the acting from Owen Cooper who played Jamie. Everything was on point as per character representation.
I loved the bond between Jamie’s mum and dad and how they appeared to have fought through their trauma. I loved how dad was still tender with & intentionally protective of his wife Amanda (Christine Tremarco) & daughter Lisa (Amelie Pease) even at the peak of his rage! THAT…that was spectacular!
Parenting is no easy task anywhere in the world, but to often find yourself panicking whenever your teenager steps out of the house, THAT…that is next level! We can only do just as much.
Sending hugs to all parents out there.
I can’t rate the story…sorry! It’s a sensitive subject! There are, however, many unanswered questions here as per the plot & direction of this viz:
- Is Jamie innocent or guilty?
- Did he eventually get sentenced?
- Did dad follow the advice from the guy at the DIY shop to get crowdfunding for a good lawyer?
- How was Katie’s friend able to pull through the trauma from the loss?
- What became of DI Bascombe? He appeared to have been deeply affected emotionally.
- One of the lads from school seems to be a doppelgänger of Jamie’s! Could there be a possible plot twist?
See…I could go on and on as there’s more to ask! But for how I feel, it’s an 8/10, albeit there was too much swearing.
Bravo to the entire cast.This is INCREDIBLE!
Thanks for stopping by.
SOKA 🖤