I watched this film on Halloween night. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how good it was, considering I knew nothing of the actual plot.
Elizabeth (Lizzie) and Charlotte are both prodigies of an elite music school, one where young girls are trained to become amazing musicians. When they meet in Shanghai, Charlotte gushes over Lizzie, and Lizzie tells her to not be so nervous. They are both each other’s idols. Fueled by a mutual attraction, they end up in bed. Lizzie explains she’s going away on a trip, because she has time off for the first time in forever. Charlotte agrees. The next morning bodes ill for Lizzie: she has a hangover, and is in desperate need of ibuprofen. Charlotte gives her some, and they continue their whirlwind journey.
While on a bus, in the middle of nowhere, the story takes a much darker turn. Because Lizzie’s still not feeling good, she takes more ibuprofen, even though Charlotte worryingly asks, “Are you sure that’s a good idea to take that much on an empty stomach?” Lizzie ends up getting sick on the bus. She panics when she sees bugs in her vomit, maggots to be exact. Charlotte tries to get the bus driver, who only speaks Mandarin, to pull over because Lizzie needs to use the bathroom. Thankfully, a man who speaks English helps them out, translating for them.
The two women are kicked off the bus due to Lizzie’s hysteria about the bugs, which frightens the other passengers. The fact that she got violently ill on the bus doesn’t help. As they walk in the general direction of a town, which has a doctor, the bugs actually start moving under her skin. Horrified, Lizzie watches as the bugs burst out of her arm. Charlotte produces a knife from under her clothes, saying, “You know what you have to do.”
I really don’t want to spoil the rest of the plot.
This film is about saving someone from something terrible, albeit in a rather dramatic way. I found this film to be quite interesting, once I learned the truth as to why Charlotte made Lizzie cut off her own hand. There were a lot of subtle changes to the narrative that made it interesting. Like the sad reason behind the music note tattooed on each of Lizzie’s and Charlotte’s backs. I thought this film was pretty good, considering I knew very little about it.
The Perfection is about the secrets that an elite music school holds, and the revenge that Lizzie and Charlotte take on someone within the community of the school. I liked the ending for what it’s worth. I wish that I could have actually heard Charlotte and Lizzie play together, instead of hearing the ending song over the otherwise silent scene.
This was a pretty good horror movie that actually wasn’t quite horror outright. There was a reason for everything that happened, which was nice for a change.
If you like psychological films, I also recommend checking out the French film He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. It’s one of my favorites.
The Nerdy Nook 