The Perfection – A Movie Review

It’s not often that I watch a movie that actually disturbs me. On a recent flight, I decided to watch The Perfection and I was left saying “holy shit” to myself several times as I gritted my teeth and made this face:

So I decided to bring back movie reviews! First, this is a Netflix original and I suggest you go watch it. There are **SPOILERS** below and you should stop reading if you plan to watch, please.

About 1 minute into the film when Charlotte just fucking spazzes and screams, you know it’s going to be an intense movie, but I had no idea HOW intense. Charlotte (from Get Out) was a prodigy and the best violinist in the world before her mother got sick and she had to withdrawal from school. Replacing her is Elizabeth (Lizzie) who becomes a professional and is now the apple to their teacher’s eye. But this makes Charlotte a little jealous, particularly in the early scene where Lizzie tells Charlotte not to be nervous around her. It would be like Justin Bieber telling Michael Jackson not to be nervous around her and you can tell it hits Charlotte pretty hard.

So suddenly, Lizzie and Charlotte are in some weird romantic relationship after a night of partying and that’s when shit really gets weird. Lizzie wakes up hungover and asks for ibuprofen and Charlotte pulls out a weird pill that doesn’t look like ibuprofen but it’s a movie so I don’t think much of it. Lizzie can’t shake her hangover, though and it actually seems to get worse. Then, on a long bus ride in the middle of nowhere she freaking melts down. I’m talking like worst pain in your life melt down. We’ve all kind of been there when you have the stomach flu or you’re in a lot of pain but it’s tough to watch. She’s losing her mind and she doesn’t feel well and no one else speaks English and the bus driver won’t stop. It’s really, really uncomfortable. Not to mention, Ebola is going around down south and now she knows something is really wrong.

She pukes the nasty yellow “Ebola” puke and it’s more than that. It has freaking maggots in it! Then her arm has bugs and just explodes basically and it’s really, really bizarre. The panic in Lizzie’s face is real and it’s a great performance, honestly. So Charlotte just pulls out a butcher knife and is like “Yo, Lizzie, cut your arm off.” And Lizzie is like sure! It’s so weird but then you back up. My instincts were right – it wasn’t ibuprofen. It was a weird medicine that Charlotte’s sick mom was taking that causes hallucinations and causes even weirder ones when you drink alcohol and basically Lizzie is tripping. It’s a great piece of story telling but you’re only half way through the movie. So what’s the rest?

Well, Anton, the slightly weird musical teacher is actually a really sick fuck who has abused these girls for a long time and now has a new “prodigy” in his grasp. It’s, again, an uncomfortable turn that gets weirder and weirder. It’s like a train wreck that you can’t look away from but it’s a super interesting and well told story train wreck. I’ve read some complaints on the story telling but I don’t see it. I have one complaint that I’ll get to in a minute, but that’s minor.

Lizzie ends up remembering everything and then getting kicked out of her place as a professional and prodigy because, you know, she lost a hand. So she kidnaps Charlotte and is going to make her pay. She drags her back to the place they both left and things take another turn (or two!). Just constant twists and turns and it all works out pretty well except for….

The very ending. It was all great until the very last scene. I was even fine with the fight scene which made me vocally say “what the fuck” with that face from above again – very gory to watch someone take a knife through most of their arm. But that’s when it’s dumb. I get that now the two can play as one on an instrument and I’m not even that mad at that. I’m mad that Anton was sitting there hooked to an IV with no arms and no legs – that just wasn’t needed. A smart man once told me the ending of a movie can affect the rating by a full point and I agree. This one was negative and I’m taking off about .75 on it. Overall, highly suggest – just wish it didn’t end on such a low note when you could have just stopped with revenge. But this is a movie that will make you feel uncomfortable and it’s very entertaining. Watch it and let me know what you think!

Rating: 7.8/10