You know what you’re in for with Sex Education right from the opening shot, which involves a fairly graphic sex scene between two teenagers. Look past all the hot ’n’ heavy humping, though, and you might notice the artistry of the composition itself, shot with a traveling camera that begins on an overhead lamp, surveys the ground floor with some parental characters (and a dog) whom we’ll get to know later, moves through a predictably suburban living and dining room, and climbs up the exterior wall to the bedroom, where the action is.
That shot is an example of the kind of deliberate thought and effort that went into the marvelous Sex Education, elevating the Netflix show beyond teen raunch (although there’s plenty of that). The British-made show is, of course, a frank exploration of the dramas that ensue when adolescent hormones ricochet off each other, but it’s also a lot smarter, funnier, and more emotionally engaging than you might be expecting.