UNBROKEN, AGAIN

            If you haven’t seen the Netflix limited series Adolescence, you need to.  While the subject matter is nothing shy of dreary, the cinematography is spectacular.

            What makes it so is that each of its four, sixty-minute-long episodes was shot in a single, unbroken take.  I’ve always thought that Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014; Alejandro Iñárritu\Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC) and 1917 (2019; Sam Mendes\Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC) – both Oscar winners, by the way – slammed the door on this technique, but I was wrong.  Director Philip Barantini and cinematographer Matthew Lewis have used it in a manner that serves the story equally well.

            When I go to the movies or watch TV, I have never had a problem turning off my cinematographer brain so as to enjoy the narrative like a normal person.  As much as I was able to do that with Adolescence, I couldn’t help marveling at the precision of the actor\camera choreography.  Hats off to the assistant directors, camera operator, focus puller, grips, electrics, boom operators and everyone else who had to do their thing perfectly for an hour – all while knowing that even a tiny mistake on anyone’s part at the fifty-ninth minute meant going back to square one.  I couldn’t tell if any blends were used to cover the seams of a broken take or smooth-over hinge points, nor could I detect any compositional re-positioning of the image that might’ve taken place in post.  But none of that takes away from the effort.  Instead, it supports my contention that this show is a terrific achievement!

            Check it out and let me know what you think…