Consent, review: it’s not subtle, but Channel 4’s drama is required viewing for teenagers

Sexual harassment is a normal part of school life. That was the conclusion of an Ofsted report a couple of years ago and is the starting point for Consent (Channel 4), a one-off drama set in a private school. 

Perhaps it was ever thus, although the school I attended was superficially similar to this fictional one – a mostly middle-class intake, traditionally an all-boys establishment but with girls latterly admitted to the Sixth Form – and there was no behaviour of the kind depicted here. Crucially, though, I went to school before the invention of mobile phones. 

Phones provide unfettered access to pornography, warping teenagers’ views of what consensual sex should look like, and to WhatsApp/Snapchat groups in which boys can give free expression to their worst instincts. It is a toxic combination. Added to that is the threat of sexual encounters being recorded and circulated. Who would want to be a teenager now? 

Archie (a strong performance from newcomer Tom Victor) seems to be one of the more decent members of his friendship group. He is attracted to Natalie (Lashay Anderson), a working-class girl who got into the school on a bursary and worries that she doesn’t fit in. But she is the best friend of Archie’s twin sister; it is at the siblings’ 18th birthday party that Archie and Natalie end up in an encounter which he insists was consensual and she insists was rape because she was too drunk.

The subject matter is important, and shows addressing it should be required viewing for teenage boys and girls. This particular drama does feel very basic, though, painted in broad brush strokes to fit into its hour-long running time. The set-up – sensitive rich boy, smart girl from a humble background – is straight out of the 1980s film Pretty in Pink, right down to the insufferable blond kid who dominates the group (a particularly cartoonish character). 

The fact that most of these actors are older than school age takes away from the authenticity, as does the decision to have the cast act out their WhatsApp discussions. It feels stagey. The ending acts as a warning that even the “nice” boys can be guilty of behaving like this.

Consent is available to watch on Channel4.com now

Source: telegraph.co.uk