“Perfect” is a 94-minute film directed by British director Millicent Hailes which had its World Premiere on March 14th in the Visions section of the SXSW film festival. “Perfect” attempts to break new cinematic ground by using sound in a most unconventional way, Someone decided that repetitive dialogue—super-imposing the same line over the dialogue being spoken at that moment in a sort of echo chamber effect— was a good idea.
It was not.
It came across as auditory assault. The dialogue (scripted by Kendra Miller and Hailes), when finally deciphered, was banal. “You’re going to be all right” was the oft repeated sentiment. That line, based on the plot events, seems inaccurate.
By film’s end the lead character (Ashley Moore as Kai) is far from “okay.”
She has lost at love more than once and is burning her car—the car in which she had been living. Her romance with a mysterious pregnant woman ( Julia Fox of“Uncut Gems” who also executive produced) has crashed and burned. Kai is stranded in the middle of nowhere
SYNOPSIS
Julie Fox as Mallory in “Perfect” at SXSW film festival Visions section on March 14, 2026.
The plot: “In a world devastated by a contaminated water supply, Kai, a lost soul, finds herself living out of her car after a bad breakup. Each day is a struggle until fate leads her to a hidden utopian lake where the water is pure and life flourishes.” A ragtag group of outsiders — Sonny (Lio Mehiel), Pinksy (Ryder McLaughlin), Nik (Micaela Wittman), Cal (Creed Bratton), and Emil (Sergio Lane) — have carved out a fragile community there. At the lake, Kai meets Mallory, a wealthy and mysterious pregnant woman running from her past. They fall into a passionate romance, but as Kai becomes more attached, she begins to see the cracks in Mallory’s story.
THE GOOD
Director Millicent Hailes of “Perfect” at SXSW Visions screening on March 14, 2026.
Moore and Fox are striking onscreen, and their fragmented love scenes are filmed with an eye for beauty. Director of Photography Ksusha Genenfeld makes the most of their chemistry — there’s plenty of skin, and film editor Amber Bansak has composed a romantic pastiche of sensual erotic images. Viewers here for the sex scenes will be pleased. Beyond that, the plot doesn’t offer much. It’s surprising to hear lines like “fucking faggot” and “Is this giving gay?” used casually, tossed off nonchalantly by a queer director who founded a magazine (yves 2c) for under-represented genders.
BACKGROUND
Director Hailes studied fashion in London and has a degree in photography. The film has been picked up by Visit. Hailes said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Visit Films… we’re honored to join their slate and look forward to bringing the film to audiences worldwide.” Visit’s president, Ryan Kampe, added: “Perfect is the perfect film for our times… a smart and provocative film that weaves together a potential apocalyptic future with the needs and desires of the human body.”
THE “MORAL”
Ashley Moore as Kai in “Perfect” at SXSW on March 14, 2026.
If there’s a message, it’s obscured beneath the sound effects — including, near the end, a sped‑up voice that sounds like a cartoon character. The score by Wynne Bennett, however, is genuinely good and elevates the romantic scenes with lyrics like, “I was on the edge of something greater than before.”
CONCLUSION
Sexy, stylish, but saddled with an almost unlistenable sound design, the apocalyptic water‑crisis backdrop is oddly minimized, and the protagonist’s journey rarely makes much sense. Viewers who want more than the beautifully photographed sex scenes, including coherent storytelling or a satisfying ending, will need to look elsewhere.
