Review: The Perfection (2019)

The Perfection (2019)

The Perfection, for all of its minor flaws and plot holes, is still quite an entertaining thriller. It is clear that director, Richard Shepard, and the writers were heavily inspired by suspense/thriller maestros such as Hitchcock and De Palma, with the creative creative shots and compositions littered throughout the film, the twisty-turny, and the exaggerated performances, all of which they mix with a few more contemporary slants such as visceral gore and some gross-out sequences. While not all of it always works, the end result is still an out-the-box thriller that, even with its somewhat gimmicky twists, still plays it rather loose and it is clear that the actors and everyone involved had as much fun making this as you might have watching it.

The Netflix film follows Charlotte (Allison Williams) a former classical cellist protege who reunites with her former teachers after being forced to leave the school to care for her mother for a number of years. Upon reuniting she meets Lizzie (Logan Browning) who has supplanted Charlotte as the new star-pupil of the teacher, Anton (Steven Weber). What follows from there is a tale of jealousy, love, betrayal and revenge, that unravels in a perplexing and exciting manner. It is one of those stories where when you think you finally have a grip on where things are the film yanks in the opposite direction. It is not a perfect thriller by any means though; much of the pacing and the dialogue are fairly stunted, and one wonders why certain creative choices were made at a few junctures. There are also certain plot points and performance points that will likely strike you as odd only for you to find out that they were placed there solely in support of a latter twist - a somewhat gimmicky tactic in this genre of film. Regardless, it is entertaining and it will fill the void for those seeking a throwback suspense/thriller.