Review: The Perfection
Viewers' enjoyment of The Perfection may depend on their capacity to embrace the film's level of wanton, unapologetic, so-bad-it's-good craziness. It's a trashy B-movie that somehow comes off as elevated and often unpredictable pulp, though it's not without its imperfections.
An excellent Allison Williams plays Charlotte Willmore, star cellist at the prestigious Bachoff Academy until she was forced to give up her position in order to care for her ailing mother. Ten years have passed, most spent gestating in bitterness, frustration and, as evidenced by several quick flashbacks, mental instability. Now that her mother has passed, Charlotte takes hesitant steps to re-enter the world, seeking out her former mentor Anton (Steven Weber), who invites her to a concert in Shanghai where his current prized pupil, Lizzie (Logan Browning, charismatic and committed) is scheduled to perform. It's all too clear that Lizzie, with her fame and acclaimed career, has the life that Charlotte might have had.
Despite the overtones of All About Eve and Black Swan, the two young women forge a bond, spending the night drinking, dancing, and falling into bed with one another. The next day, Lizzie invites Charlotte to accompany her in her exploration of rural China. The journey, however, quickly turns into a nightmare as Lizzie goes from feeling unwell to vomiting maggots during a trip on a small bus filled with Chinese people, most of whom don't speak a word of English. Abandoned by the driver somewhere in the middle of nowhere, the fear and hysteria escalate and, when bugs begin crawling out of Lizzie's arm, the only option available is for Lizzie to cut her own hand off. How lucky for her that Charlotte happens to have a cleaver on hand. Yet, as the film literally rewinds, viewers learn that things aren't exactly as they seem.
One of The Perfection's greatest assets is its consistent ability to keep audiences on their toes and on the verge of their seats. One can never entirely trust what one is seeing, nor can one often stomach what is being shown. Many viewers will feel that several scenes are in poor taste; those who are sensitive to sexual abuse and the threat of rape as plot points will recoil at the somewhat blithe ease with which they are deployed by the filmmakers. Without excusing or endorsing this, the device works within the context and tone of the film, which takes the subject seriously but not so seriously that it forsakes the demands of being a campy, psychological, body-horror, revenge thriller.
The Perfection
Directed by: Richard Shepard
Written by: Richard Shepard, Eric C. Charmelo, Nicole Snyder
Starring: Allison Williams, Logan Browning, Steven Weber, Alaina Huffman
