Transfusion Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Transfusion Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 20, 2023

The old adage goes "like father, like son", but for any adult males with boys of their own, they will probably know that there can be some rather noticeable differences between "senior" and "junior". I've joked for years that athleticism evidently skips a generation, as both my own Dad and both of my sons were/are rather physically adept, while I'm more of a sedentary movie reviewer type (that's a joke, folks). Temperamentally, both of my own sons are first quite different from each other but also at least at times from me, and so perhaps old adages should not always be taken as "gospel truth", and in fact at least part of a subplot of Transfusion might be tweaked slightly to say "like son, like father" instead of the more traditional formulation. That "reversal" comes courtesy of the relationship between Australian vet Ryan (Sam Worthington) and his son Billy (played by Gilbert Bradman and Edward Carmody at different ages), wherein Billy starts acting out after a family tragedy (which will be disclosed in a moment, so spoilerphobes be aware), and who finally gets into enough trouble that Ryan's custody is in danger, which kind of oddly leads Ryan into a life of crime, ostensibly to give him the money to support the kid. If you can get past that kind of preposterous setup, Transfusion is often quite effective from a performance standpoint if not always frankly from a narrative one.

In a way, Tranfusion plays the "gender bender" card with a tip o' the spectral hat to Ghost, in that the aforementioned family tragedy is that Ryan encounters even more of a reason for PTSD than "merely" being seriously wounded in Afghanistan after his pregnant wife Justine (Phoebe Tonkin) is killed in horrifying accident, but now appears, at least in Ryan's imagination, as a kind of spiritual advisor, pun perhaps unavoidable. The film tends to ping pong between time periods and as such is kind of intentionally disjunctive, but there's a visceral component to the way that Justine's fate ripples into the lives of both Ryan and Billy. When things get to the point of potential legal intervention with Billy, the film's conceit of Ryan accepting an offer of a quick buck for some nefarious activity from war buddy Johnny (Matt Nable, a former rugby star who also wrote and directed), something that at least interstitially pushes this effort more toward caper territory, might seem to be at odds with the more personal story of Ryan and Billy.

Parts of the father - son relationship really struck home for me, including an early scene which sees a very young Billy not wanting to shoot an animal while getting hunting lessons from his avid sportsman father, an anecdote that could have been ripped right out of my own childhood. Some of the later material, where Billy goes more off the rails, may strike some as needlessly hyperbolic, but Carmody, who essays the role during this time frame, nicely underplays the material, something that is matched by the seemingly genetically reticent Worthington. If the film ultimately tends to exploit a few clichés too many, the performances help carry the material, and I was also quite positively struck my a somewhat Mark Isham-esque score from Luke Altmann.

Note: Brian Orndorf had a somewhat similar reaction to the film. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

Transfusion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Transfusion is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. I haven't been able to track down any verifiable authoritative information on the shoot, and as of the writing of this review the IMDb doesn't have much to offer, either. This is a nicely sharp and well detailed presentation, with good use of some Sydney locales, and an appealingly vivid palette, especially in some outdoor material. I'd be curious to find out if Alexas were used for this, since some of the "active duty" material is graded toward yellow and has a bit of haziness that I typically associate with that particular brand, though even there detail levels manage to make it through surprisingly well intact. There's some very brief banding, which almost looks "liquid" in its rippling, during the opening vignette in near blackness where Ryan gets wounded. The film has a perhaps over emphasis on horrifying facial injuries, and the fine detail on scarring and other wounds may provoke a bit of squeamishness in some.

Transfusion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Transfusion features a well designed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There is an immediate sense of surround activity in the tense opening vignette (I'd have loved an Atmos rendering for one effect in particular right at the start of the film), and while a lot of Transfusion tends to be dialogue driven, there are some interesting detours along the way, as mentioned above, that tend to offer more of a thriller ambience in the sound design. Dialogue, effects and score are all delivered without any issues. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Transfusion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Transfusion has no on disc supplementary material other than a Bookmarking feature. A digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Transfusion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Transfusion is a rather odd mishmash of disparate elements at times, and it seems almost willfully prone to trying to have both a visceral personal story and a somewhat more rote "driven to the dark side" element with regard to Ryan. The film's kind of unabashed testosterone levels, as evidenced by what might be jokingly referred to as Billy finally being able to shoot a rifle, may seem on the surface not to mesh that well with a more touchy feely aspect with regard to the relationship between Ryan and Billy, but I think that's actually one of the reason this film delivers some emotional content despite the more ludicrous aspects of its plot devices. Technical merits are solid, and with caveats duly noted, Transfusion comes Recommended.