Milo has a reputation about his school for hurting animals and keeps to himself for the most part. He's obsessed with vampire lore and thinks he is a vampire, escalating to hunting people at night for their blood and possessions. Things change when Sophie, a teen girl with an abusive grandfather, moves into his building and befriends him, making him rethink his outlook on life.
The Transfiguration is a powerful film. Everything is grounded in depressing reality and we enter the scene without much explanation. Milo was orphaned by a mother who killed herself and now lives with his useless older brother Lewis. He has no real guardian or anyone who really cares enough to guide him. A counselor at school seems only concerned with controlling his violent impulses and nothing else. Even thought it's later revealed that Lewis severed ties with the local gang to keep his brother safe, it doesn't change the fact that he makes Milo take care of the household and shoulder all of the responsibility as a young teen.
Milo has notebooks full of all the different vampire lore, trying to understand who he is through the study of all types of film. Once a month, he hunts someone down to drink their blood and steal their money. His physicality isn't any different than a human's, but he feels a strong need for blood. It's clear that the first incident we see in the film isn't the first or the last. The reality of his vampirism is never confirmed or denied, although the film sows a lot of doubt. Its origin is after he found his mother's dead body, so it's definitely rooted in trauma and possibly a reflection that he feels monstrous because he felt it was his fault. Through it all, Milo stays a sympathetic character throughout the film even when he commits incredibly monstrous acts. One particularly hard to watch seen has Milo killing a little girl, but it's so well made because the dread is almost palpable. Eric Ruffin upholds the entire film as Milo and performs the role with subtlety.
When Sophie enters the film, Milo finally makes a human connection, which causes him to question his morals and vampirism. Their interactions are at turns tragic, hilarious, and sweet. Milo likes to watch horrific videos online of animals being slaughter or animals killing other animals, making Sophie uncomfortable and make a quick exit. What makes it so funny is Milo's complete inability to recognize that Sophia hates it. They share traumas with each other and show vulnerability they never feel safe showing to anyone else. Both also share living in this place of casual violence and despair, always feeling the watchful eyes of a gang in the area. Things take quite a turn when Milo is suspected of snitching on a local gang after he witnesses them kill someone. The ending is completely heartbreaking and has Milo taking control of his own narrative in a way.
The Transfiguration is an indie film with so much heart and emotion. Even though Milo has a mostly flat affect, his past and emotions are still conveyed through Ruffin's performance. I love how things are shown as they go along and it feels like we are seeing a portion of Milo's reality. I know people got pretty tired of vampires films recently, but this does it very differently. I highly recommend this indie gem.
My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins
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