UNSTOPPABLE
Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne’s remarkable drama miniseries Adolescence recently entered the global zeitgeist with a bang, ranking no. 1 on Netflix charts in over 70 countries and outperforming cultural behemoths like Stranger Things and Bridgerton, whilst inciting feverish discussion across all quarters. The story of a 13 year-old boy charged with the murder of a classmate throws a revealing lens on so many important topics as to be dizzying, its themes of generational disconnect, familial tension, burnt out teachers, merciless social dynamics and toxic masculinity resonating across numerous demographics to varying degrees. As a touchstone for discussion into online radicalisation and pervasive, damaging influences on our youth, the Prime Minister himself has brought it up in parliament, with education professionals debating the efficacy of introducing it to schools.
Kids everywhere will be looking for new emojis now the squares and grown ups have cracked some of their code whilst parents nationwide are anxiously debating the optimal moment during breakfast to casually ask their teenage boys whether they’re secret psychos.
Its disturbingly prescient themes notwithstanding, much of Adolescence’s astonished dissection has centred on its technical and performative achievements. Each of the four roughly hour-long episodes was shot in a single take; no cuts, no sneaky transitions and next-to-no visual effects - the huge cast of main players and supporting cast hitting their marks impeccably as the camera roams seamlessly from streets to police cells, into volatile classrooms, down noisy corridors, through houses, vans, shops and even the skies. Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of a film set – the myriad lights, cables, mics, batteries, booms, stands, grips and scores of people hiding off-camera - will have some small idea of the audacity of the accomplishment, whilst perhaps only theatre folks won’t be dumbfounded by the idea of a huge ensemble cast of actors reeling off an hour of high-stakes drama with nary a flubbed line or foot wrong.
Ultimately, the whip-smart script and uniformly naturalistic acting, combined with the one-shot aesthetic, create a breathless, viscerally immersive experience. The series adeptly conveys the raw, messy and propulsive nature of adolescence, its propensity for chaos amid the consequences of our actions. Whilst the single take conceit is undoubtedly a flex on the part of its creators, it is no mere gimmick. The decision to plunge the viewers into an ever-escalating situation without the illusory respite of a single cut undoubtedly elevates an already harrowing story to masterfully involving levels. Expect (pale) imitations in the wake of all the attention, though Adolescence itself follows in the footsteps of other celebrated “oners” from the annals of the silver screen.
One of the earliest movies to proffer an apparently continuous shot throughout, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) was actually recorded in several 10 minute takes (limited by the length of film reels at the time), hiding transitions by panning behind characters or fading in and out of shadows, whilst aspects of the set were wheeled in and out of frame to allow the camera its freedom. Like Adolescence, the oner effect is that of ratcheting tension and unflinching intimacy with a dire, unfolding situation. Though some uninitiated critics were distracted by its execution nearly 80 years ago, the methods employed by Hitchcock undoubtedly paved the way for some of the modern masters, such as director Sam Mendes, whose 1917 (2019) employs a turbo-charged version of the same technique to take audiences on a harrowing scramble through the trenches of WWI. As audiences move with two (SPOILER ALERT: - Initially two at least...) young soldiers across treacherous terrain, no respite is given, no pause for rest provided, save for a ten second fade-to-black when our hero is knocked unconscious. The seemingly real-time narrative was actually achieved with some 34 hidden cuts, but the overall effect, heightened by Roger Deakins’ stunning cinematography is one of breathless immersion in a desperate, escalating ordeal.
Long before motion-controlled rigs, drones and steadicams made this kind of thing easy (relatively speaking of course), technical cinema pioneer Orson Welles was rewriting the rule book. The opening 3.5 minute roaming shot of A Touch Of Evil (1958) employed a mobile crane and precise choreography to track a ticking bomb in a moving vehicle over rooftops and down bustling streets. As its orbit repeatedly flirts with that of our unsuspecting protagonists, the tension builds inexorably until the inevitable occurs and the movie’s characters and tone are established in explosive fashion. A virtuoso introduction to the story, Welles’ classic scene established early on the potency of a well-orchestrated oner.
Legendary director Martin Scorsese’s 1990 classic Goodfellas is fondly remembered for its mesmerizing long-take tracking shot as Ray Liotta’s Henry leads his date though labyrinthine stairwells, corridors and bustling kitchens to enter the glitzy Copacabana the “gangster” way. As the camera shadows Henry while he smoothly navigates the chaos, slipping workers 20’s left and right, before emerging into the glamorous confines of the club, the effect is intoxicating, the themes of power, charisma and access deftly conveyed through the virtuoso shot. An inspiration for subsequent auteurs such as Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights), Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) and Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines), Scorsese’s iconic oner reinvigorated the technique for
modern audiences.
Like several of its cinematic forebears, Adolescence has proven once again the one-shot can supersede gimmickry to become an essential storytelling tool, heightening emotions and ratcheting tension as it drags the viewer breathlessly into the world presented on screen. Of course it doesn’t hurt when the script and performances match the technical expertise on show.
It should go without saying, any other productions hoping to bag a Bafta next February should probably realign their expectations.