What is the plot?

Jolene Dollar is a porn star who will soon turn 35. She's the mother of three children, the oldest is a teenager and her current partner helps her manage her social networks and everything related to porn. By taking off her makeup and devoting herself to her family, she becomes Hayley Burrows, a housewife like any other. The arrival of Amy, a new star, and the events that will happen to the new one on the first day of shooting, will make her remember a fact from the past, making a difficult decision that will lead her to a legal dispute with her friend and boss Carroll Quinn.

The four-episode mini-series is a very British comedy drama, touching on important issues about the world of porn and the working environment of that industry.

The main character, Hayley Burrows, is the mother of three children, one of them a teenager, Phoebe, who knows her mother's work and is the victim of teasing at school. The relationship between them will be difficult, because Phoebe wants her mother to retire from the industry. For Hayley, this is a difficult decision to make. That job gives her the financial independence to lead a comfortable life. Plus, when she becomes Jolene Dollar, she's a star, with thousands of fans.

Jolene Dollar is the name she is known by in the industry, it is her stage name, the object of desire of thousands of fans. But Jolene is reaching an age when most actresses are starting to have less work, the end of her successful career is closer than you think. The way this may be affecting her will be corroborated by the decisions she makes in the face of the events that are happening with Amy.

Amy is apparently a new actress, a dancer who has made the decision to enter the world of porn. What happens to Amy in the first episode will make Jolene feel sympathy for her and her maternal instinct to protect her. She believes that she is not yet ready for what is being asked of her.

This is where the dilemma comes in: When is it a consensual act within the industry? What are the limits? When could something be considered an abuse of the bosses? This is a somewhat delicate subject and one that the mini-series will invite us to reflect on, always adding scenes of British humor.

A fact from Jolene Dollar's past will return to your mind. Something that happened with an American actor named Tom Pain, who traveled to London to film some scenes. This is what will test her loyalty and friendship with adult film producer and businessman Carroll Quinn.

There is a parallel subplot, which will later converge with Jolene's story. The political Stelela Mitland, who at first seems to be a fervent fighter against the porn industry, but whose political career collapses when the press leaks that she has downloaded pornography onto her cell phone, which is paid for with public money.

She will play an important role when the protagonist of the story has to go to court, being sued by Carroll, with the support of the international company that distributes the scenes. Although it seems that it is a mini-series against the adult film industry, the story only shows some concrete facts, so that the risks that exist within that work are understood and when to know the limits of each one of those involved.

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Adult Material has received excellent reviews from several film critics in the British press. The Guardian, Irish Time, The Independet have all published flattering and positive reviews of this mini-series. It has also been well received by the British public.

All these excellent reviews seem to me a little exaggerated, because it is not a production that impresses either. For me it is an entertaining production, but it does not go very deep into the adult film industry. There are several stereotypes that appear taken from American comedy films, of how some actors are in that type of cinema. That results in some funny scenes, but they are just an altered sketch of reality.

There are other productions, either movies or TV series, that have entered the world of porn with more success. If you are looking for a better approach to this industry, it is better to see other productions. This mini-series focuses on the struggle of the alleged abuse that one of the girls received and that years later affected her emotionally to relive those moments with the appearance of a supposed new actress.

As it is only four episodes, the story advances rapidly, focusing its last part on the resolution of the problem within the courts.

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The mini-series is hooked by the magnetism of its lead actress, Hayley Squires, who plays an excellent Jolene Dollar/Hayley Burrows. A working class woman, who must be a porn star and at the same time is a woman with children, a partner and responsibilities like anyone else with a job.

Squires is known for having worked with Ken Loach in the movie "I Daniel Blake". She has won the British Independent Film Award, as best actress, and has also worked in many television series in her country and also in the theater, where she has produced her own plays.

The strength of her performance, is something that caught my attention and kept me attentive to the whole story, it was because of the work of the actress that I saw the four episodes, otherwise I would not have gone beyond seeing only the first one.

Actor Rupert Everett plays Carroll Quinn, the pornographic producer, a friend of Jolene's, whose friendship will be put to the test when she accuses him of not protecting the actresses, especially the new girl Amy. He is also the only one who knew what had happened to him in the past with actor Tom Pain. The veteran British actor, has appeared in many films and television series, and received the Actors' Union Award in 1998 for his work in the Oscar-winning film, Shakespeare in Love.

The comedy actress, Kerry Godliman, known for her work in Derek and After Life plays Stella Maitland, starring in several funny scenes, but at the same time leaves room for other more emotional ones. Another excellent performance on her part.

Siena Kelly plays Amy, the new girl, who will play an important role in the development of the story, being the one who makes the problems explode. Although her character is not entirely reliable, as she does not tell the whole truth. She has played small roles before and I haven't seen anything important in this actress.

And the young actress Alex Jarrett plays Phoebe, Jolene's oldest daughter, a teenager with her own problems, whose life will be affected by her mother's work. But when Jolene has to face her problems and the secret of what happened in her past is discovered, it will serve to unite and strengthen the relationship between mother and daughter. The actress previously worked in last year's British miniseries in Les Misérables.

The four episodes are directed by Dawn Shadforth, a British filmmaker who began her career making music videos, has ventured into making documentaries and has directed episodes in successful series such as Trust and Dark Materials. Her work is good and correct, providing her feminine vision on a particular problem within the adult film industry, bringing to the screen the script written by Lucy Kirkwood.

Trailer

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