This Unnerving Netflix Crime Drama Was Shot In Only Four Continuous Takes

There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to Netflix’s newest crime drama, Adolescence—and trust me, we’ve been talking about it—but one of the most interesting aspects has nothing to do with the storyline. Instead, it’s how the story is actually told. 

Adolescence surrounds the murder of a teenage girl, but more specifically, it closely inspects the prime suspect of the case, a 13-year-old boy from her class named Jamie. This miniseries, which consists of only four episodes, was shot in only four continuous takes. This means the cameras were rolling continuously throughout each hour-long episode, following the actors as if they were experiencing every heart-pounding moment in real-time. From Jamie’s arrest in episode one to his family’s reckoning with the aftermath in episode four, we aren’t just seeing the actors breathe life into the most highly emotional moments, but in all the little instances in between.

While this set up can at times feel slow (after all, since the camera is constantly rolling, that means we also experience the characters walking through the halls and driving from one location to the next), it builds up to some of the most resonant moments in the show. For instance, in one episode, we meet the child psychologist who’s been brought in to give an unbiased report about Jamie’s mental health. While the two have a good rapport at first, throughout the entirety of their talk, viewers are also given intense, often harrowing mood shifts on Jamie’s end (masterfully performed by actor Owen Cooper in his first-ever professional role), as well as every moment the psychologist begins to realize exactly what she’s come face-to-face with. It’s raw and it’s visceral, and most importantly, it’s real.

On a technical level, this format is an impressive feat—there’s little room for error, and the actors are able to hit their marks and remember their lines flawlessly for an hour straight. On an artistic level, though, it’s almost transcendent—by having to constantly be “on”, the actors are forced embody the necessary emotions of every beat. One character might be nervous and insecure one moment, only to become manipulative and aggravated the next; another will go from calm and collected to sobbing the moment something big is revealed. By the time you make it to the gut-punch of a finale, you’ll realize every seemingly small moment was necessary to paint the picture the showrunners wanted to present to their audience.

It’s beautiful. And it’s horrifying. But for a show that’s so rooted in the moment—and in the consequences of today’s cultural climate—it’s the perfect reflection of everything modern life truly is.

Adolescence is streaming on Netflix now.