‘Boy Swallows Universe’ review: The stuff TV adaptation dreams are made of

Boasting magical realism, dark twists, brash ’80s Australiana, suburban crime, and an unforgettable young protagonist, Trent Dalton’s 2018 novel Boy Swallows Universe is an astonishing read. It’s the kind of book that settles itself in your veins, a heartbreaking, shocking, and hilarious journey through young adolescence, unbridled imagination, and the brutality of adulthood.

In an extraordinary adaptation, Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe spectacularly visualises Dalton’s novel, with writer John Collee staying mighty true to the source material and making smart decisions to navigate the violence, imagination, and humour within it. With an outstanding cast and sharp, energetic direction by Bharat Nalluri, Jocelyn Moorhouse, and Kim Mordaunt, Boy Swallows Universe sends you barrelling into Brisbane in the 1980s, and smack bang into the life of young Eli Bell, played by talented young actor Felix Cameron.

Boy Swallows Universe is the stuff TV version dreams are made of, with a rapidly paced script that’s flippant and funny then deadly serious, some of the best TV performances you’ll see this year, and severely sinister narrative turns.

What is Boy Swallows Universe about?

Set in the working class, south-western Brisbane suburb of Darra in 1985, the series revolves around one of the most reliable, smart-mouthed narrators you’ll encounter: 13-year-old Eli Bell (Cameron, later played by Zac Burgess as older Eli). As if dealing with school bullies like Darren Dang (Zachary Wan) and perfecting your handball serve weren’t enough to deal with at this age, Eli’s family life is also pretty turbulent stuff, but it’s not for lack of love or his grown-up guardians simply trying to get by. 

Eli’s mother Frankie (Phoebe Tonkin) is a recovering addict, his stepdad Lyle (Travis Fimmel) is a scrambling smack dealer, and his father Robert (Simon Baker) is out of the picture thanks to booze. Eli’s closest confidantes are his older brother Gus (Lee Tiger Halley), who communicates exclusively through cryptic air-writing only Eli can half-translate, and his best friend Slim Halliday (Bryan Brown), an ex-con of Boggo Road Jail. Like the novel, Eli’s inner reflections in the series come through narrations of his letters to pen pal and fellow Boggo Road inmate Alex Bermuda (Adam Briggs).

Eli’s family life gets torpedoed when Lyle gets in over his head and notorious, vicious fixer Ivan Kroll (Christopher James Baker) starts circling, and he meets weirdly plastic Brisbane business magnate Tytus Broz (Anthony LaPaglia). When Eli starts communicating with a mystery voice at the end of a hidden telephone in his house, there’s a lot of answers for him to find. So he enlists the help of his all-time crush, Courier Mail crime journalist Caitlyn Spies (Sophie Wilde), to get to the bottom of it all — and what they uncover is pretty damn harrowing. 

Boy Swallows Universe is choc-full of ’80s Australiana

Both Dalton’s book and the series capitalise on the specific aesthetic, sounds, and cultural touchpoints unique to ’80s suburban Queensland and Australia. All captured through dynamic cinematography from directors of photography Shelley Farthing-Dawe and Mark Wareham, the series drops its characters in a kitschy ocean of red brick buildings, willowy jacaranda trees, busted thongs (or flip flops for everyone else), choppy mullets, cans of Quik, bags of musk sticks, playing Atari on the carpet, school canteen lamingtons, and Here’s Humphrey and Wheel of Fortune on TV.

The sound of laughing kookaburras and warbling magpies runs through most scenes, Men at Work’s “Be Good Johnny” blares on Lyle’s car radio, Skyhooks’ “Horror Movie” soundtracks hospital break-outs — as an Australian living in the UK, I was instantly homesick hearing the sounds of Boy Swallows Universe. It’s fully realised, authentic world-building, one in which characteristically Australian upbeat, straight-talking humour starkly contrasts with the violence and heavy happenings in the narrative (if you want more of this, watch Deadloch). It’s a particularly tough act to pull off, showing grim events through social realism while using slapstick humour to lighten the room — for example, watching Eli’s alcoholic dad Robert set his pyjamas on fire with turps he desperately sipped shouldn’t be funny, but man, it really is.

Boy Swallows Universe uses magical realism to soften the blow

A flippant skip through childhood and young adolescence Boy Swallows Universe is not, with its narrative twists getting more chilling and violent as the story goes on. In the novel, Dalton uses magical realism to cushion the sharpness of reality for Eli and Gus, as traumatic memories become beautiful dreamscapes, represented through Gus’ cryptic art and surrealist flashback sequences.

Despite their grown-ups’ varying range of efforts, these kids are constantly failed by adults, and the strength they have in themselves and as a duo is pure magic. And in a nice touch for the series, each episode comes with an illustrated title card seemingly signed by Gus.

Boy Swallows Universe boasts an exceptional cast

As our fearless, unfiltered, courageous protagonist Eli, Penguin Bloom yıldız Cameron is exceptional, delivering Eli’s raw emotion and wit with mature finesse. Plunged into grown up spaces, he delivers an emotional plea, a savage quip, or an astute observation from the heart. In a nice touch, the series özgü Eli essentially dressing up as Lyle, accompanying his Tasmanian Devil-tattooed stepdad on dodgy deals wearing matching patterned shirts and aviator sunglasses. 

Joining him is the subtle, sweet Lee Tiger Halley as Eli’s protective older brother Gus, whose decision not to speak boosts his brilliant imagination and observant nature. Eli and Gus’ bond is hard to describe, and in fact the novel makes it so specific that it should be hard to replicate for the screen. Yet young actors Cameron and Halley manage to craft a seemingly effortless camaraderie, clinging to each other through heavy moments.

As for the grown-ups, Raised by Wolves yıldız Travis Fimmel doesn’t miss a beat as Eli’s stepdad Lyle, careening around in his Datsun C20, cooking up sporadic hare-brained schemes, and flickering from upbeat optimism to understandably hair-wringing panic. Fimmel is perfectly paired with Babylon‘s Phoebe Tonkin, who encapsulates the flawed and big-hearted Frankie, navigating addiction, young motherhood, and turbulent, abusive relationships and urging her family to recognise the power of “respectability”.

Bryan Brown is excellent as the book’s quiet hero Slim Halliday, doling out sage advice to young Eli and providing a complex but strong paternal figure for him, and Adam Briggs’ deadpan delivery as inmate and pen pal Alex Bermuda is a constant series highlight. The ever-excellent Deborah Mailman makes every second count as caring guidance counselor Poppy Birkbeck while Talk to Me/Everything Now‘s Sophie Wilde resists the urge to infuse journalist Caitlyn Spies with “what a scoop!” energy — instead she takes no bullshit from crooked detective Tim Cotton, played with utter ’80s sleaze by Toby Schmitz.

And one of the outstanding performances in the series is Simon Baker as the boys’ absent, alcoholic father Robert. Rampaging through his book-filled, filthy house, Baker’s Robert fails miserably as a parent for Eli and Gus, constantly hanging on by a thread.

A heavy whirlwind of crime, coming-of-age, and exceptional performances, Boy Swallows Universe is everything the TV series should be and more. Making smart edits in the storyline, expanding characters beyond Eli’s perspective, and making a mighty meal out of ’80s Australian cultural icons, this adaptation knocks it out of the park.

How to watch: Boy Swallows Universe is now streaming on Netflix.