The original post: /r/television by /u/webbersf on 2025-04-04 11:26:32.
I finished Adolescence last night and loved the show’s premise and story. I loved how it shed light on some social and societal issues that, frankly, I’d never really considered. I also loved how the story was told in four one-hour snapshots over thirteen months, adding to the sense of gritty realism.
However, I found the single takes unnecessary and ruined the realism for me. It felt like the single takes put an unnecessary obstacle in place for the actors and director and added very little. Whilst I thought a majority of the acting in the show was excellent, especially Stephen Graham and the young lad that played Jamie, I think some of the rest of the cast was done a dis-service by the single take aspect.
I was especially aware of the limitations of the single-take format in the school episode, where it felt like a lot of the dialogue and key moments felt very forced and not particularly well executed. I recognise that asking young actors to execute perfect scenes in a single take is a big ask, but that is sort of my point.
I realise the rest of the world has loved Adolescence, but I wondered if anyone felt the same way about the single-take aspect of the show?