Transformations and Male Maturation
67
cop a feel.) Small wonder, given such loathsome parents, that Devon
prefers to spend time with a young man who accepts her for who she
is and wants nothing in return. The innocence of their friendship is
underscored by his naïveté. Trent is a childlike young man, much like
Edward, yet when Devon asks why he is so badly treated he responds
with a neat class distinction: ‘the way I see it, there are two types of
people in this world: those who have lawns and those who mow them –
and they ain’t never the same people’. Although he poses no threat,
his neighbours distrust him and the local security guard is keen to
move him on once his work is done. When petty vandalism arises in
the neighbourhood (caused by a spoilt little kid with nothing to do),
Trent is unfairly targeted, his lawnmower ruined. Although initially
distrustful of Devon, he bonds with her over a mutual disdain towards
those around them and a shared desire to do as they please. A dreamer,
obsessed with the witch Baba Yaga, Devon tells him fragments of the
story during sleepovers and gets him to open up, yet their friendship
is inevitably curtailed when a misunderstanding ensues. The pair fall
out over a dog Trent accidentally runs down, and a shocked Devon
responds by unwittingly feeding everyone’s fears about him. Devon’s
father and the security guard viciously beat Trent, believing he has
abused her, yet she intervenes, using her father’s gun to hold them
at bay, and gives Trent her dad’s cash to enable his getaway. Advising
him to take a comb and a towel, talismans from her favourite story, the
film acquires an overtly fantastical finale when these objects transform
into a forest and a lake, allowing him to escape his pursuers. Just who
functions as Baba Yaga in this tale is interesting, with Trent occupying
the role in some ways, living an isolated existence in the woods and in
the fear and contempt he evokes; the threatening aspects of the witch
represented by virtually all the inhabitants of Camelot Gardens; and
Baba Yaga’s more nurturing role played by Devon, who ultimately helps
him escape his enemies and (hopefully) start a new life.
19
While foolish
perhaps, in overlooking what others might think of him spending time
with such a young girl, we recognise that he is similarly childlike, and
although unfairly punished for their friendship, his faith in her is also
rewarded by the everyday items she imbues with magic. Whether or not
we interpret Trent’s getaway as real or imagined, the denouement allows
us to see the world through Devon’s eyes and thus gain a renewed sense
of wonder, as her imagination – inspired by a favourite fairy tale – both
transcends and transforms reality.
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