Boy Swallows Universe

*Crossposted to my Serializd account! Follow me there if you're itching for my thoughts on television or want to see my reviews of specific episodes.* Was charmed to death by this Brisbane-set coming of age crime drama with dazzlingly smart, witty and emotional writing from John Collee adapted from the work of the same name by Queensland's own Trent Dalton. Weirdly enough I have a few tenuous connections to him but I guess that's not uncommon turf to be on for a Brisbane creative with enough friends? Recommended to me by my wonderful friend Imogen! If you're a Brisbanite it's almost worth it to watch just to take in the scenery of the city and the suburbs being depicted on screen in such a beautiful way. I've felt very homesick on this last leg of my vacation and it brought me a lot of joy just to see my city and these places I've been to, sat at, and have seen all my life in such beautiful presentation and in scenarios I'd have never dreamt of. A high intensity car chase sequence on the Story Bridge ending in a confrontation at Brisbane City Hall sounds like a fever dream but it's something I've now seen with my own two eyes. I did watch the penultimate episode right at my lowest mental health point when I was extra homesick and I was genuinely getting distraught seeing Queensland Rail on my screen, seeing characters talk about taking the Caboolture line, Eagle Junction station, the PA announcing for the Shorncliffe line and Eli getting off at Northgate station... It fucked me up! I've been there! I miss the familiarity of it! I need to be home pronto! Of course the narrative of it all is fantastically put together. These are fully realised, complex characters who you learn to love and hate throughout the series. It's never quite perfect, and I have a bit of a gripe with how little I truly emotionally connected to everything, but it really is a quite compelling story that is very well paced throughout the seven hour long episodes. Definitely makes me want to read the book and see if it gels in that same way (though I also must acknowledge the fact that I have like 30 things in my TBR list as supplied by numerous amounts of my friends who I do want to get back to about their recs 😭). Propelling the narrative is a veritable who's who of great Aussie actors, yet newcomer Felix Cameron is by far the most stunning of the lot. A truly unbelievable showing from an actor from his age, he's asked to bear the weight of the story on the shoulders of his performance and he delivers in spectacular fashion. It doesn't seem like he's been in anything since just yet, but I would be upset if we never see him on our screens again. Also huge props to Lee Tiger Halley who I've now seen in two different television shows back to back. He is magnificent here as Gus, and while I didn't always love his turn as Gonzo in hit ABC children's television show Crazy Fun Park he absolutely blew me away in this role. Tens across the board. Had a very good time with this. Excited for whatever I watch next. Severance rewatch with friends please please please