A Perfect Ending

Two queer movies plots I’m always wary of are a) movies where one of the leads dies and b) movies that are about sex more than anything. A Perfect Ending combines both of these plots. And yet, it’s actually pretty good. Miracles do happen!

A Perfect Ending  is about upper class housewife Rebecca. Rebecca admits to her lesbian friends that she’s never had an orgasm and generally has a wholly unsatisfactory sex life with her husband. On her friends’ suggestion, she hires a call-girl, as you do. Paris is that call-girl. After a couple false starts, the women have a very passionate relationship that also grows into emotional intimacy between the two. Rebecca’s relationship with Paris fulfills an emptiness in her life makes her happier than she’s been in years. However, such happiness is not to be forever as it is revealed that Rebecca is dying.

What really sells the movie is the two leads. Barbara Niven gives a great performance as does Jessica Clarke. The many scenes they have together show two talented performers working really well together and achieving some great chemistry. Niven and Clarke really sell the relationship that makes up the core of the story.

There is a lot of sex scenes and nudity in A Perfect Ending. Unusually for me, I don’t actually have a lot of critiques about them. This is a movie about a sexual relationship so its frequent and fairly lengthy sex scenes are justified. Additionally, the lesbian sex scenes were logical in terms of the positioning for two women. While there was a great deal of nudity, it felt honest rather than exploitative. Generally, the sex and nudity was there to actually move the story along and to provide a physical representation of the emotional intimacy that grows between Paris and Rebecca. I commend the film for that. This is a movie that shows you can have a lot of nudity or sex and it doesn’t have to feel totally exploitative.

When A Perfect Ending goes away from being about sex to being about death, I also thought they did a good job. The third act focuses on Rebecca’s impending death and the aftermath. This ending appropriately sad without seeming cloying or whatever the proper term is for “sadness porn.” is. A Perfect Ending used death as an integrated part of its story instead of using it solely to get an emotional reaction from its audience. It works very well and I did indeed have an emotional reaction which I didn’t feel manipulated into having.

A Perfect Ending is a well-performed drama with enough intelligence and talent to portray topics of WLW sexuality and death without falling into one of the many pitfalls both those plots have. Your enjoyment of it is still going to be based around whether movies with a lot of sex or movies that end in a queer character’s death appeal to you. But honestly, give this one a chance. It’s a strong character drama that shows both of these plots can be done well.

Overall rating: 7.6/10

Other WLW films in similar genres