Sticks and Stones review, Culture Whisper
Bullying isn’t something to get over or used to; it sits in the soul, affecting trust and self-confidence and self-security before the whole world feels like a series of flying daggers. To its commendable credit, Mike Bartlett’s new ITV drama Sticks and Stones accurately captures that particular sense of hopelessness, but it’s wrapped in a fug of cartoon characters.
There’s a tendency to paint bullies as innately evil, since that’s how many of us remember them, without entertaining the idea that their lives could be worse than their victims'. Bartlett seems content with the former analysis; and yet, despite these issues, the series finds an immersive pulse. At times, watching Sticks and Stones is like squeezing a spongy stress ball.
