ar_brierley

I was completely BLOWN AWAY by Adolescence... I was actually speechless for a while, I have never seen anything like it. As a parent, it was so REAL at times it struck fear into my heart - the situation was so relatable. The acting was phenomenally good, especially the young lead Owen Cooper who is amazing as Jamie, and the format of shooting each episode as a single-shot added to the 'real time' nature and urgency of the story. Plus the skilful storytelling shows us there are no easy answers, no individual to really "blame" for what happened, the result of a series of awful choices made by very young people with too much access to toxic online influence and the brutal adolescent culture we've allowed to foment. Utterly, breathtakingly brilliant, this should win every award !!

This series, Per Elisa (For Elisa), is a well made docudrama on the sad case of missing Italian teenager Elisa Claps. The details are accurate to the original, and was made with the consent of Elisa's family. The 6 episodes cover the circumstances around her disappearance, followed by the long struggle by family, in particular her eldest brother Guido, to get action from authorities into finding what really happened to Elisa. If you don't know the full story, I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say that despite having a viable suspect from day 1, Elisa's family were repeatedly put off and let down by the apathy and incompetence of law enforcement, plus the legal and financial resources of the suspect's powerful family. This is a powerful story about a grieving family's struggle for justice, and how they never gave up, even in the face of insurmountable odds. Truly heartbreaking...

I enjoyed this film very much! It's nice to watch a movie that's gentle, kind and heartwarming, rather that full of noise and 'action'. Bill Nighy is, as always, outstanding in the lead role, I could really empathise with his situation, and feel what he was going through. The support cast is great too in their roles, and the production and set designs are very authentic and of their time from what I know. Thoroughly enjoyable film, with an uplifting message to it, although rather a tearjerker (for me, anyway). Wish there were more like it :-) .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ...... ...... ........ ......... ...... ...... ....... ...