Title: Perfect
MPA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Millicent Hailes
Starring: Julia Fox, Ashley Moore, Micaela Wittman, Lío Mehiel
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

What It Is: We follow a young determined drifter named Kai (Moore) following a bad breakup in the midst of a water crisis in America. Upon landing in a small town called Breakwater, she finds herself increasingly involved in the lives of the locals: a group of free-spirited queer outcasts, and a mysterious and gorgeous pregnant woman that lives by the lake. The woman (Julia Fox) lures her into a whirlwind romance that quickly takes a turn as Kai unravels the reality behind the woman’s life, fears, and regrets.

What We Think: The draw of this film conceptually would make it seem irresistible: a preciously-spirited doomed coming-of-age Yuri that vibrates with yearning and pent-up energy. We follow the fantasy of a stunning, pregnant Julia Fox taking you into her pretty cabin on the lakeside to do nothing but indulge in sex, art, and romance. Who the HELL wouldn’t want that? Alongside her is a charming cast, as the gorgeous Ashley Moore as our wayward girl brings a relatable angst and softness, as well as feels natural in the portrayal of her romance with Fox’s character. Supporting our leads, Kai’s first friend made in Breakwater is yet another great reason to watch as Lío Mehiel is so adorably charming and sweet, and as a character and performance, really hones in the slice-of-life vibe. The story as a whole is promising and not to mention is framed often by a surprisingly moody powerhouse score, featuring THE FKA Twigs and Sevdaliza, almost as if the music producer took a peek into my playlist and were catering to me specifically. The use of ‘Eusexua’ during a scene between our leads honestly brought chills, maybe a tear was welling up. Unfortunately, while these elements certainly make the film stronger, and may make it worth watching for some, there are a lot of empty spaces and disconnects that leads to an imbalanced final cut. Dialogue, while sometimes cute and carries some emotional maturity, often feels a bit disjointed or cheesy. The casting of Creed Bratton is strange as he only appears in the film in a small part and can barely even be scene: I’m sort of wondering if he was supposed to have more scenes but they had to be left out for whatever reason. While the plot moves along and never seems to lag, I’m left desiring more scenes of the characters just as they are in their element and to bring chemistry; the moments we do get can be very effective, particularly between Kai and her new friends, but we seem to rush these relationships all a too fast (but that is of course VERY much my opinion, as I tend not to mind slower movies). As a coming-of-age for someone in their early 20s, this film is pretty effective. It lives in this sort of fantastical reality and we love the unabashed queer representation, though the more dreamlike sequences, the imensity of Kai’s feelings, and the tumultuous relationship seem to be rather misrepresented by the cinematography, one of if not my BIGGEST critique of the film.

Our introductory film titles literally smash and flicker to upbeat music, promising an energetic and chaotic experience to follow. While the film has the potential to be so, it seems its visual /stylistic elements fall short and really should have been pushed further to really nail the vibe the filmmakers so-clearly envisioned. What we want is an explicit, bombastic fantasy of a drifting, young black, queer woman’s journey through exploring romance and the struggle to find a place in the world. All the pieces are there, but what we get is something that is presented like a more traditional, meditative slice-of-life in its visuals. It looks much more like a Chloe Zhao or Andrea Arnold film (it reminded me a LOT of The Short History of the Long Road), when it feels like it needed to be presented much more like a Gregg Araki or Julia Ducournau. Of course there is a huge range in what I just mentioned, but in short, I was missing color and energy from the look and edit of the film itself. Instead, it just looks really quite flat, which is a shame considering its beautiful cast, nice scenery, sensuality, and queer coming-of-age topics.

Our Grade: C+, A watch for those who are curious. It’s not a bad film and I hope to see more from the filmmakers in the future, just with some more polish and visual audacity to go along with what’s being shown. I feel like this could actually be a really rewarding watch for a lot of people, especially queer youths–though do be warned, there is plenty of explicit sensuality (which I thought was technically very well-done, it seemed like the actresses were very relaxed and felt very natural together in that state). Still, I can’t say there weren’t quite a few moments and characters I didn’t enjoy.