‘Suburban Wildlife’ Review - Generation Z Angst in the Suburbs of Sydney

Originally Posted on kweenbea.com Sept 17, 2019

Andrew Peirce reviews Suburban Wildlife.

"Béatrice and Imogen are wise enough to not write a Stand By Me-esque denouement explaining where these characters end up, instead allowing us to pull on our own life experiences with friends that have moved on, and bonds that have faded, making us realise that these relationships aren’t always forever, but the memories stay strong."

"In some realm, this is sub-Gummo kind of stuff. There’s a sly nod to that grime-fest via a tattoo, and while one may think there’d be a desire to be gritty with a story about wayward drug taking adults, the truth is, these characters are too tired, too bored, too whatever dude, for grittiness. Where Bugs dug into the pathetic anger of teenage youth, Suburban Wildlife looks at the middle class twenty somethings who are being pushed out of their parents homes because the grey nomad lifestyle has beckoned them to the wild of Australia. They’re a pack of communications degree laden university graduates with nothing to say and nobody to say it to. They’re skater boi posers who have never skated before, they’re lesbians who have never kissed a girl before, they’re artists who have never drawn a picture before, they’re mums who have never been a parent to anyone before, these are people who give themselves labels because it feels like the right thing to do. Because to be labelled is to have a purpose."