The director of Adolescence has explained how they filmed the ‘harrowing’ strip search scene for the hit Netflix series where episodes were filmed in one shot.
The gripping four-part drama has been a non-stop talking point the last few weeks – either because of the way it was filmed or the chilling plot line.
Its portrayal of a teenage killer and his toxic masculinity views stemming from the ‘manosphere’ has been a hot topic, even being discussed in PMQs, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is watching it with his children.
The PM also backed calls for clips of the hard-hitting show to be played in schools to raise awareness of how young boys can be influenced by disturbing content online.
It has received rave reviews for a number of reasons – including each episode being filmed in one take.
But this meant that some sequences took months of preparation, and also caused issues for one episode in particular.
Director Philip Barantini told The Filmakers Podcast that they had to figure out a way to film the episode where 13-year-old Jamie Miller – played by Owen Cooper, who is 15 – was strip searched by the police upon his arrest.
He explained: ‘When Jamie is being strip searched…one of the ideas was initially that we’ve got a young, 13-year-old boy.
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence, pictured as he arrives at the police station
Pictured are a lawyer and nurse turning their jacks as Jamie is strip searched
He had to quickly get changed behind a screen while the camera focused on his father’s face
Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller, Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller, at the station after the strip search scene where he had to change clothes off camera
‘From the moment I read it, I was like ‘that’s amazing, but we can’t have the actor strip naked’. He has to strip to get changed but we can’t cut.
‘At one point, Jamie goes behind a curtain and quickly gets changed but no one can see him. The whole time, we’re holding on Stephen’s [Stephen Graham, who plays Jamie’s father] face.
‘Later on we put in the sound of his foot steps moving across and turning around.
‘The police officer who is talking him through it – those words and seeing Stephen’s reaction, is – you don’t need to see him getting changed.
‘You can see him [Stephen]- the little nuances in his face.
‘It’s like doing a play. You are on stage the whole time, you have to be in character the whole time. It forces them to be in the moment.’
Viewers have loved finding out the behind-the-scenes intel on how they were able to do so successfully.
It was earlier revealed that a camera man can be seen at the end of the second episode in an aerial shot.
A TiKTok user, @itsjustttjoy, took to her page to explain, after highlighting that The Guardian sat down with creators to spill the beans on it all.
Owen as Jamie pictured in his police cell with his father looking at him
Jamie and his father seen talking to their lawyer after his arrest for murdering a teenage girl
Owen Cooper, who is just 15, played 13-year-old Jamie in the hit show
She explains: ‘You can see a camera operator in episode two.
‘So when Ashley Walters leaves the car they had a team coming up behind Matthew the cinematographer who clipped the camera to a drone.
‘They then flew that drone over the town and in the meantime Matthew the cinematographer legged into a van, drove to the end scene where we see Stephen Graham.
‘He catches the drone with two other people, disconnects it and starts walking towards Stephen’s face. Are you insane?
‘He had to literally be a split second accurate, if not the whole thing wouldn’t have worked.’
She continued: ‘If you watch it again you can see his car drive into the car park and you think ‘Oh it’s just a car’.
‘Then you see the door open and of course, the drone is going faster when we saw the door open.
‘We see enough of the door, and that’s actually Matthew’s van getting ready to get that camera, unclip it and then zoom into Stephen’s face.
‘Now we don’t necessarily see him, but we see [the vehicle]…’
The four-part Netflix series, which hit the streaming service on March 13, has received rave reviews for a number of reasons – including each episode being filmed in one take
It’s also been revealed that the camera crew dressed in civilian dress to be able to be classed as extras.
Netflix confirmed: ‘During rehearsals the cast would also work through the choreography, allowing the DOP to plan the positions of the camera through the whole take, as well as the movements of the crew.
‘Sometimes it was necessary for some of the crew to remain in shot, in these instances they were dressed in costume so that they could blend into the show to serve as extras in the shot.’
The four-episode programme follows the Miller family, whose lives are torn apart when their 13-year-old son Jamie is arrested for stabbing a female classmate to death after being influenced by online misogyny.
The show’s protagonist Jamie Miller is played by Owen Cooper in his acting debut, while his father Eddie is played by Stephen Graham.
Top Boy legend Ashley Walters took on the role of DI Luke Bascombe and Erin Doherty plays psychiatrist Briony Ariston.
After his devastating performance as schoolboy Jamie, Owen is tipped for silver-screen success – and been compared to a young Leonardo DiCaprio.
Meanwhile, Stephen Graham, who co-wrote the script, has described finding Owen as the ‘biggest achievement’ of the four-part series.
Despite its huge success, Adolescence’s co-creator Jack Thorne has insisted he won’t be returning to Jamie’s story, telling The News Agents podcast:
‘I don’t think so and I don’t think Stephen [Graham] does either.’
‘I think that we’ve told the story that we wanted to tell. We would like to do another story with the one-shot template, perhaps, and we are thinking how we might be able to do that, with Phil Barantini, our brilliant director.’
‘But no, I don’t think it’s about what happens next to Jamie. I think we’ve told that as fully as we possibly can.’