“Adults Only – Adult Material”: Rupert Everett plays merciless porn producers

“Adults Only – Adult Material”
Rupert Everett plays a ruthless porn producer

Hayley Squires (34) plays a porn actress who bravely takes on the multi-billion dollar industry in the four-part British miniseries “Adult Material” (2020). For this, the British actress was honored with the International Emmy Award for Best Actress.

The courageous rebellion against capitalist conditions of exploitation, socially tolerated abuse of power and one’s own feelings of powerlessness follows the tradition of British social dramas such as “Trainspotting – Neue Helden” (1996), “Ganz oder nicht” (1997), “Billy Elliot – I will dance” ( 2000), “Pride – An Unusual Alliance” (2014) or “I, Daniel Blake” (2016). Already in the latter film, Squires attracted attention as a single mother, Katie, who tries to be more humane with the authorities with the title character.

The male-dominated porn industry from a female perspective

The mini-series “Only for Adults – Adult Material”, which will be broadcast from August 25, 0:45 a.m. on the first and can be seen in the ARD media library from August 26, takes a look behind the scenes of the male-dominated porn industry . The story in front of and behind the camera – including script, direction, etc. – is consistently told from a female perspective.

Hayley Burrows is a 33-year-old hard-working, devoted mother of three. Her hard work is that of porn star Jolene Dollar. She is successful and knows exactly how things work in the industry. A respected veteran – “career is over at 35” – she keeps a watchful eye on the younger girls, including 19-year-old rookie Amy (Siena Kelly), who beams with bright-eyed “My boyfriend adores you!” – arrives on set. “I love sex,” she tells Hayley/Jolene before they begin. “Well,” says Hayley after a pause, “that’s a good start.”

When a replacement girl is needed for a scene involving a certain sex practice, quirky director Dave (Phil Daniels, 63) offers Amy the role. “Nobody will blame you if you don’t participate,” he says, and maybe even means it. Still, it’s one of the many little hints at the male-dominated power structure in the industry. The veteran Hayley reassures Amy that if she does it once, she will always have to do it. The 19-year-old decided against the scene. “Don’t talk her into it,” Hayley warns Dave, and blasts off in her pink caprio. “Of course not,” says Dave – and of course he does it anyway.

The rest of the series follows the domino effect of that first abuse – of Hayley’s trust and Amy’s body.

No hackneyed clichés

“Adult Material”, created by Lucy Kirkwood (38), confidently leads through a dramatic theme that is full of well-worn clichés – and yet avoids them all. Their porn world is neither unbearably shabby nor glamorous, at times even unintentionally funny to downright funny. Lead actress Hayley is neither hopelessly vulnerable nor completely free in her decisions.

The four-part is a study of how we compromise, how we protect ourselves, the impact childhood experiences have on where we end up, and how responsible we are for each other. All these light and dark elements are balanced here.

In the midst of the shown comradely dealings with one another, there are also dangerous men in the porn industry. And that’s where rich, successful, and most importantly, merciless producer Carroll Quinn comes in. When Amy oversteps her limits with fatal consequences, Quinn doesn’t care – until Hayley/Jolene blames him and wants him to sue.

Carroll Quinn is embodied by the British Hollywood star Rupert Everett (63), who played most of the romantic comedy “My Best Friend’s Wedding” (1997) with Julia Roberts (54), Cameron Diaz (49) and Dermont Mulroney (58) should be known. Everett played charming gay friend George, who rescues lead actress Julianne (Roberts) from her misery. Everett and his film partner Juliane Moore (61) were nominated for a Golden Globe for their leading role in “A Perfect Husband” (1999).

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