The Perfection (2019) Review

"I made a mistake."

-Charlotte 

Before you read any further, if you haven't seen The Perfection, go watch it.  It's on Netflix and it's a great movie.  I knew nothing about it going in and that made it all the more enjoyable.  Do yourself a favor and watch it while knowing as little as possible.  Spoilers below!

An extremely talented cellist, Charlotte (Allison Williams) was forced to leave an prestigious music academy when her mother became very sick.  Years later, after her mother dies, Charlotte reunites with her former instructors and meets their new protegé, Lizzie (Logan Browning).  The two of them quickly form a bond and decide to travel together, but Charlotte's motives aren't what they seem.

What Works:

The chemistry between Williams and Browning is the strongest aspect of this movie.  The connection between them is instantaneous and I was pleasantly surprised to see them hook up so early in the film.  It's a nice focal point in the first half of the movie.  Their relationship definitely becomes more twisted by the end, but they have fantastic chemistry nonetheless.

All I knew about this movie going in was it had something to do with music and that's definitely case, especially the second half of the movie, but the first half threw me for a loop.  It follows Charlotte and Lizzie traveling across China and Lizzie starts to get sick.  I really didn't know what I was watching and thought it might just be an infection movie about two Americans trapped in the middle of rural China.  It caught me off guard, but I was really into it.  It's equally terrifying and disgusting, especially the stuff involving bugs.

The second half is where the movie goes really off the rails.  I had absolutely no idea where this film was taking me once we got back to the United States.  The story veers off into some incredibly dark territory and manages to get even grosser.  I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.  Steven Weber gives an excellent performance as the true monster of this movie.  

I love the rewind element of the film that takes us back and shows us what really happened.  The first time we get it about the China storyline, I thought this might be a Clue-esque movie with multiple endings, but that isn't the case.  It's more of a heist movie reveal about how it was all done and I thought it was very interesting.  I had forgotten about it by the time it happens again and it really caught me off guard (I'm sensing a theme here).

The final scene of the movie is both haunting and beautiful.  We get to see Charlotte and Lizzie playing the cello together each using one hand.  It's gorgeous and a site to behold.  On the flip side, we see Weber's character, Anton, missing all of his limbs with his eyes sewn shut.  It's a horrifying visual and an excellent way to end the film.

What Sucks:

There are a lot of plot holes and logic gaps in the film.  I really like The Perfection and I'm usually fine with ignoring logic gaps in movie I like, but even I can only take so much.  For example; I don't think Charlotte needed to get Lizzie to cut off her whole hand.  There must have been a less extreme way to achieve her goal.  That said, I still loved the movie.

Verdict:

The Perfection is a gorgeous and disturbing film with amazing cinematography, acting, and a twisted story on multiple levels.  Sure, there are some plot holes and gaps in logic, but even so, this movie has definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great