I came across (pun intended) this series as another entry on the Guardian's top TV of 2020 list. It's a mini-series, of just four parts, with incredible performances, if perhaps one that suffers a little from too much going on.
Seasoned adult film star Jolene Dollar (Hayley Squires) meets new girl Amy (Siena Kelly) on her first day on a shoot. Against her nagging concerns, Jolene leaves the set once she has finished her scenes, after which something happens with Amy that has a profound affect on her mental state. Her guilt, and the reaction that Amy has at an industry party, lead Jolene on a crusade against producer Carroll Quinn (Rupert Everett). Ostracised from working, and with her life falling apart, dark moments from her past continue to destroy her present.
IMDB classifies "Adult Material" as a comedy drama - which is fair, because there are funny moments in it. That doesn't, though, come close to explaining the depths of grim stories and behaviour that make up the cultures of abuse, in one form or another, that the show goes into. There is very little in the way of titillation, the opening scenes establish that shooting the films are much like any other job, chatting about your weekend plans, waiting around. From there issues of rape, both in and out of relationships, alcoholism, drug abuse, revenge porn and prostitution are explored. I wonder if perhaps it hits a little too many of them a little too shallowly for it's own good sometimes. I also think that the character of Amy has a little too much going on, or it doesn't perhaps explain her well enough. I'm still not sure know if she's calculating, damaged or genuinely psychopathic. (Perhaps she's just all three).
You cannot argue with the performances though. The quality of Rupert Everett, Phil Daniels and Kerry Godliman have been on show for years, in everything they've done. Alex Jarrett is great, as Jolene's oldest daughter, who has a lot to go through herself. But Hayley Squires is revelatory. (Another reason, if there wasn't enough already, for anticipating Ben Wheatley's new horror film "In The Earth").
