The Transfiguration (2016)

The Transfiguration movie, oh my goodness. Just wonderful. So interesting. Great storytelling. So first time feature length writer director Michael O'Shea brings us the story of vampire obsessed troubled teen Milo as he befriends alienated young girl Sophie. As their relationship grows his obsession slips further from fantasy into reality. This film created buzz at numerous film festivals and after watching Raw earlier this year I was heavily invested in realistic coming of age stories with a twist and I'm so pleased I am. Which means unfortunately for me I have to add another director to my list of people to keep an eye on.

Milo our protagonist is played by a young Eric Ruffin, who I think was somewhat captivating. Our first interaction with him is as he sucked the blood from a strangers neck, followed by him sat in a school counsellor's office ready to start his summer break. We see how he behaves slightly differently with them as with his brother. And different again with the gang living in the same block of apartments and again with Sophie, played by Chloe Levine. Their relationship is a somewhat beautiful one though different. His character doesn't emote all that much, his independence on vampire lore takes the forefront so he struggles to begin with to relate to her. After finding that they have both lost their parents they spend more time together and a relationship forms. He misses some normal social cues and even walks a little odd, as if he glides and doesn't step, all small things that match both with his lack of social practise and his obsession with creatures that have similar traits. Levine is believable as a teenage girl, clearly having to deal with difficult times way before being old enough to deal and adjust with them. She's taken by Milo and it's very sweet to see her deal with her own feelings separate to his.

The style of the film is something I picked up on immediately. The entire film is shot handheld. Whether it's the intimate close ups with high depth of field, focusing on one part of Milo's face. Or the wide location shots with Milo and Sophie very very small on the edge of the frame, there's actually a shot so wide that I didn't spot them at first. But the style is purposeful, so it lingers and you don't miss anything. It's rarely from the protagonist's perspective, we watch everything from the outside often with a wide angled distance. All you could say in a predatory manner, we are hunting throughout the film.

Another thing I noticed within a few minutes of the film was the lack of music. Only a handful of moments in the film was any extra sound used. And it was the same high pitched ringing, an uneasy alert that wasn't all that loud, it never stole focus, but it highlighted the action at the time. From not appearing at all they got more and more prominent in Milo's vampire homages as the film went on. Both the sound and the visuals were realistic, something Milo says a few times, is that he only liked realistic vampire movies. The film appears to be shot using almost all natural lighting, it takes place over the summer between the school year. Mostly during the day, in Milo's room or in the city's night. So some shots get quite dark with only the streetlights to spark the dim screen. Some shots have a bit of noise in them because of this but I enjoyed the cinematography greatly.

Horror/drama is accurate, there are some tense scenes that could be regarded as scary, both due to the visceral images and the possible real life repercussions. The normality of the violence is arguably as unsettling as the violence itself. We watch online videos with Milo as well as many clips from vampire movies. Some with uncomfortable potential but none worse than what we see the actual characters do. There is a good balance between Milo's relationships and his own personal gain and his actions. The ending of the film was in my eyes, perfect. I've said it before and I will say it again, it is always great when a film has a purpose. It started knowing where it was going to end. It was well rounded and came full circle with the character development. Could not think of a better way for it to end.

8/10 Unsettling, intriguing and almost delicate. Wonderful independent film. What Milo says about vampires not being able to kill themselves will sit with you for a while.

CINEMATES - A