Audrey (Alison Bell) has just had a baby and is trying to navigate her new life. She’s gone from a career, busy social life and exciting relationship to no sleep, mum’s group and resenting her partner, Jeremy (Duncan Fellows) for getting to continue his life mostly interrupted.
The Letdown navigates Audrey’s attempts to adjust to motherhood without completely losing herself. Audrey will have to reassess all her relationships, including that with her mother, Jeremy and herself while keeping a small human alive and not succumbing to the ever present mum-guilt.
The Letdown probably sounds like it’s treading old ground and in some ways it is. The other members of her mum group can be very stereotypical and I struggled a bit with the hard-nosed working mum, Ester (Sacha Horler). However the whole approach feels fresh. The struggle that Audrey goes through was totally relatable to me. Trying to accept letting go of your old life and realising that you are still you but a different you is one of the parts of motherhood that are only really whispered about between mums.
There were parts of the series that were really heartbreaking and affecting. Seeing the bombshell that parenthood delivers to Audrey and Jeremy’s relationship sometimes felt almost too close to home. Also seeing her old friends struggle to understand the limitations of Audrey’s new life was quite familiar.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. There are moments of hilarity. All Audrey’s interactions with the underpass drug dealer (Patrick Brammall) – not what it sounds like – are brilliant. As are her moments with her bohemian mother, Verity (Sarah Peirse). Celeste Barber steals the show as Barb, a stay at home mum who has seen and heard it all and Noni Hazlehurst is great as the tough mum group leader, Ambrose.
I really enjoyed The Letdown and I feel like it would be a great watch for any parents or soon to be parents.
4/5
abbiosbiston 