Adolescence was all the rage when it was released a few months back. From writing and directing to the cinematography and performances, every aspect of the show was highly praised by critics, bringing its Rotten Tomatoes score to 99%. The British crime drama stars Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller, the father of 13-year-old Jamie Miller, who is a suspect in a murder case.
Critics sang loud praises about Stephen Graham’s performance in Adolescence, and he even won a Gotham TV Award in the category, Outstanding Lead Performance in a Limited Series. Clearly, if you haven’t gotten around to watching the show yet, you need to add it to your watchlist ASAP. But before you do that, there is another Stephen Graham show that needs your attention.
Stephen Graham’s true crime drama deserves your time
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams, The Walk-In is a short television series based on the real story of English activist Matthew F. Collins. Prior to becoming an activist, Collins was a member of numerous British fascist and neo-Nazi organizations.
Currently, he serves as a researcher and Head of Intelligence for the anti-fascist and anti-racist group, Hope Not Hate. The Walk-In is a five-part series that revolves around Collins infiltrating the British neo-nazi terrorist group, National Action, and ruining their plans of assassinating Labour MP’s Rosie Cooper.
While the show did not make as big of a splash as Adolescence, it packs just as much emotional and political weight. If Adolescence showed us the quiet unraveling of a man burdened by paternal guilt and emotional trauma, Jeff Pope‘s series showed Stephen Graham playing a character who is fighting a more external, but equally personal war. A war against his past self.
As for why The Walk-In is important, it doesn’t just tell a dramatized account of a single event in history, but it is proving to be a parallel to current events. In a time where political divisions are sharper than ever, especially in the time of Donald Trump, the show feels like a cautionary tale written in real time.
The resurgence of far-right movements in America has reached into dinner table conversations, making hatred more common than ever before. No, the Trump era did not invent hate, but it certainly has brought it out of the shadows.
Meanwhile, Collins’ story of realisation and redemption is a great reminder that radicalisation is not irreversible. In The Walk-In, his transformation isn’t romanticised, but rather, it is messy, as it should be.
Stephen Graham believes The Walk-In is an important drama
If you admired Graham in Adolescence, you will most certainly be impressed by what he managed to pull off in the 80% rated TV show. As his character is shown leaving his own fascist past behind to turn over a new leaf, it is proven that we truly are living in polarising times, and just how threatening they can be.
As for Graham, there is a reason why he chose to do the show. He believes that it is important for him as a performer to put out stories that speak the truth. In an interview with Radio Times, Graham stated, “I think it’s important we have drama like this that tells the truth. It’s the reason why I choose the scripts I do.”
He wants to be able to create projects that will prompt conversations at dinner tables around the world. Graham said,
I love to go into people’s living rooms and create conversation and debate, try and bring about some discussion about what they’re watching. It’s important for me, as an actor, to be part of something that’s a social commentary.
And that is exactly what The Walk-In is: a piece of social commentary that doesn’t believe in mindless entertainment, but confronts the viewers and forces them to face uncomfortable truths about the current state of the world.
Stream Adolescence on Netflix now (USA).
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
