By Laura BennettTuesday 10 Jan 2023Hope AfternoonsMoviesReading Time: 2 minutes
Australian cinema generally leans in to one of two strengths: capturing our unique comic wit or delving into life’s harshest moments with both tenderness and brutality.
Stan’s new original film Transfusion definitely chooses the latter.
Sam Worthington (Avatar, Hacksaw Ridge) is Ryan, a former special forces operative who’s struggling to adapt to civilian life after a family tragedy forces him out of service. His son Billy (Edward Carmody) hasn’t found the change easy either – having a few run-ins with the law – and Ryan turns to the criminal underworld to try and prevent his son being taken away from him.
Transfusion is the directorial debut for former footy player-turned-actor Matt Nable (Last King of the Cross, Poker Face) who also stars in the film and he utilises the small cast to create a story that is emotionally magnetic and powerful.
Like many returned servicepeople, Ryan leaves a role where he was admired and had purpose for an environment where his skills aren’t understood in the same way and being respected isn’t a given.
Ryan has to navigate the responsibility he feels as a father to provide and set an example for his son, alongside the humiliation of answering to middle-managers who don’t comprehend his life experience.
Speaking to an audience at the Dendy premiere screening, Sam Worthington said Transfusion is “an exploration of masculinity, but on a quite and intimate level”.
Transfusion is “an exploration of masculinity, but on a quite and intimate level”, says Australian actor Sam Worthington
There’s certainly moments of drama and action, but the movie centers on Ryan’s ability to adapt and how his evolving roles unpeeled the many layers of his male identity.
Edward Carmody, who stars as Ryan’s son Billy, was new to acting when he signed onto Transfusion – “I’d just done a school musical” – and Sam said, to level the playing field on set, the actors didn’t rehearse the scenes beforehand.
“We just trusted the page”, he said.
There were some retakes but the technique allowed for there to be “more truth” to what you see on screen and for Ryan’s vulnerabilities to shine through.
Transfusion begins the year of cinema with an opportunity for us to ask what forms our sense of identity, and how men shape families and build bonds with one another. It honours the story of servicepeople and authentically – without pomp – exposes the faults in how they are acclimatised back into everyday life.
Transfusion will prompt viewers toward quiet reflection and great discussion and is a salute to the talents of all involved.
Streaming on Stan from January 20, Transfusion is rated MA15+