![‘Perfect’ Review: Julia Fox Stir Passions and Provokes Rage in Messy Romantic Drama [SXSW]](https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20134613/perfect-julia-fox.jpg "‘Perfect’ Review: Julia Fox Stir Passions and Provokes Rage in Messy Romantic Drama [SXSW]")
Millicent Hailes’ relationship drama “Perfect” doesn’t live up to its title but leans into its messy premise with a fearless attitude. “Perfect” begins with the world in crisis, and drinkable water is in short supply. On the open road, Kai (Ashley Moore) is on her own, using her meager savings to survive. At a worn-down gas station, Kai meets a friendly attendant named Sunny (Lío Mehiel) and a mysterious pregnant stranger who pays for her water share. Sunny shows Kai the town’s tiny oasis, a lake that’s not safe to drink but people swim in anyway, and the stranger, Mallory (Julia Fox), appears again to help her out of trouble.
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The pair strikes up a quick friendship, but the sparks of a hotter attraction are already evident. After Kai’s car is inexplicably trashed, she finds refuge with Mallory, becoming physically and emotionally dependent on the kindness of a stranger she doesn’t fully know.
Co-written by Hailes and Kendra A. Miller, “Perfect” follows Kai through her tumultuous relationship with Mallory. Both the dizzying highs and heartbreaking lows feel supercharged in the film’s isolated setting and Kai’s precarious situation. There’s an intoxicating enchantment to falling in love so quickly, and after fighting the world on her own, Kai surrenders herself to Mallory fairly quickly. However, Mallory has a manipulative streak that sours this romance, like leaving out details about her life and stranding Kai in this small town so she wouldn’t leave her. Things get messy, and their once-hot love loses its luster. “Perfect” ends up feeling more like a cautionary tale than a steamy fling.
With a sizable résumé of music videos under her belt, Hailes makes the most of her limited landscape, creating a small world that feels both claustrophobically tight and enormous. Hailes uses an electronic soundtrack to hype the passion behind some expertly stylized scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a music video. There’s a world beyond the oasis, but Kai’s focus immediately shrinks once her car is broken and Mallory offers a worry-free escape—or so she thinks. Hailes leaves room for doubt over Mallory’s intentions. They’re certainly selfish, but it’s unclear if she knows how manipulative her actions are or why leaving Kai in the dark about another partner would set her up for heartbreak and disappointment. Then again, perhaps that’s the question behind all messy relationships: how knowingly hurtful is the partner who thinks they did nothing wrong?
As Kai, Moore gives a surprisingly vulnerable performance despite her initial entrance as a solo traveler with a tough exterior who can take care of herself. When giving in to Mallory’s companionship, Moore shows a tender side to Kai, now finally able to embrace her partner’s whimsy and affection. As Mallory, Fox is like a wild child who hasn’t yet figured out how consequences work: she wants Kai and traps her in her home, then acts hurt when Kai objects to her treatment. She’s childlike in her fun-loving ways, a free spirit who regularly draws and demands Kai’s near-constant company. They’re like magnets that attract each other sharply, and as Kai learns, perhaps not in a good way. Mehiel’s sympathetic gas station attendant-turned-friend is one of the gentler souls in the movie, always willing to help Kai from the moment she arrives and sticking up for her among his friends. Another acquaintance played by Micaela Wittman is truthful with Kai in ways she doesn’t always appreciate, but in the end, helps her stand up for herself.
As much as one can enjoy other people’s relationship drama, once the film’s source of tension drives offscreen, “Perfect” essentially peters out. It’s a sweaty affair that burns a hole through the film but reveals itself to be a bit more complicated than a summertime fling. Like the friend who disappears whenever they get a new partner, it’s hard to be happy for something so toxically dependent on another person. While the actors are all game to find each other in friendship and in lust, it’s not enough to cut through the moral murkiness that clouds “Perfect.” [D+]
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