Perfect Film Review
Struggling every day and living out of her car during the worst drought in history, Kai comes across a secret lake full of clean water. However, while there, she also finds a group of misfits. Among them is Mallory, a pregnant, wealthy woman with whom Kai soon becomes romantically involved with. Premiering for the first time at South by Southwest (SXSW), Perfect does not yet have a broad theatrical release date. Previously only directing music videos, this film marks the director, Millicent Hailes’ first feature-length film. Co-writing the script with Kendra Miller, this is both women’s first and only writing credit thus far. The film stars Kate Moennig, Julia Fox, Creed Bratton, Ashley Moore, Ryder McLaughlin, Lio Mehiel, and Micaela Wittman. Julia Fox, arguably the most prominent name in the cast, also helped produce the film, stating that she wanted to explore more complex themes, such as queer love, environmental catastrophe, and personal escapism. Two things become apparent right away while watching this film. One, the director’s background is solely in music videos, and two, it’s going to be predictable, but somehow extremely enjoyable. Both of these defining qualities of the film aren’t in any way meant as negatives; however, at some points, they hold the film back from what it could be. Between the multiple needle-drops and the stylistic editing of the film, Millicent’s history in music videos becomes very apparent. Although the songs are all great and work in tandem to help enhance the story and the visuals, they do become distracting, especially when the music takes over, and instead of watching the film, you’d rather listen to it. The soundtrack, for the most part, makes the viewer want to dance like they’re in the club, but a lot of the scenes don’t benefit from that feeling, especially the ones that get lost in the music and the hectic editing. All of this isn’t to say the editing isn’t great; in fact, this movie benefits a lot from it, and it helps the pacing of the film feel enjoyable and fast. This aspect of the movie might be one of its best attributes and contributes to its enjoyment. Perfect is a movie that flies by; all the characters are fun and interesting (even if many don’t get fleshed out enough), and the backdrop of a world without water also adds an intriguing ingredient to the film, but overall, the most enjoyable parts are when Ashley Moore and Julia Fox are on screen. As previously stated, many of the plot points and reveals are a bit obvious to most viewers, but this is a special film where that doesn’t entirely matter. Does it get annoying when you can predict what’s going to happen an hour before it does? Yes. However, is the film still unique and entertaining despite all of that? Also, yes. Overall, this is a film I’d recommend to a very specific type of person, but I don’t think I’d ever see it again, not because it was bad, just because I don’t need to, and I don’t know if I’d gain anything from a rewatch.
