Why Adolescence star Stephen Graham's new film is closely linked to a controversial classic

Watching new film The Good Boy – which stars Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough as a deeply unsettling married couple – might very well put you in mind of Stanley Kubrick's seminal 1971 classic A Clockwork Orange.

Like that film, it sees an angry teenage delinquent forced into a brutally unorthodox rehabilitation process designed to reform their errant behaviour, with A Clockwork Orange's infamous Ludovico Technique replaced here by a series of unhinged techniques overseen by Graham's character Chris after he kidnaps 19-year-old criminal Tommy (Anson Boon).

Of course, director Jan Komasa was very aware of the shared themes, and during an exclusive interview with Radio Times the filmmaker even revealed that an earlier version of the script made specific reference to the iconic Anthony Burgess novel on which Kubrick's film is based.
"Clockwork Orange was one of the first books that Chris and Kathryn gave Tommy in the Polish version of the script," he explained, referencing one of the less extreme parts of the couple's rehabilitation process which sees them lend books to their captive.

"Because the script initially was set in Warsaw and then [producer] Jeremy Thomas told us, if we do this, then it's very on the nose. Because this film, this whole concept, is Clockwork Orange-y. So let's get rid of this, and we replaced it with other books and films."

The cultural references that are made in lieu of the direct Clockwork Orange nod run the gamut from Ray Bradbury's story The Illustrated Man to Ken Loach's landmark film Kes to music from revered Polish classical composer Frédéric Chopin. And Komasa said that there was a single theme unifying these choices.

He explained: "With all this, we wanted to keep it very educational... but in a very twisty way!"

While The Good Boy is certainly a dark and disturbing watch, it thankfully hasn't been met with quite the same outrage that greeted A Clockwork Orange back in 1971 – when Kubrick's film was famously withdrawn from UK cinemas after a spate of violent acts that were said to have been inspired by the film.

Still, it's certainly an intriguing modern-day companion piece to the earlier classic – with Graham and Riseborough both in chilling form.

The Good Boy is now showing in UK cinemas.Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.