By George & Josh Bate
At the world premiere of her new movie Perfect at SXSW 2026, star Ashley Moore gave instructions to the rousing Austin crowd. “Leave horny, people!” Moore exclaimed. “Leave horny!” Writer/director Millicent Hailes went on to describe the film to the crowd as “hot, cunt, sexy, sweaty, fun.” All of those words (and more describe) Perfect, an intriguing, seductive, and unapologetically raw lesbian romance story.
Perfect takes place in a world crippled by contaminated water supply (although Hailes’ film keeps this context firmly in the background). Kai (Ashley Moore), recovering from a bad breakout, finds herself homeless and living out of a car when she is directed toward a utopian lake. While befriending the local store clerk Sunny (Lío Mehiel), Kai meets an alluring and wealthy pregnant woman named Mallory (Julia Fox), who lives in a nearby cabin. Soon, a sudden and passionate romance blossoms between Kai and Mallory, but the idyllic love story is threatened as Mallory harbors secrets about her life beyond the lake.
Perfect had made itself known in the context of broader pop culture well before its SXSW premiere. Early leaks and behind-the-scenes pictures of Julia Fox and her prosthetic pregnancy went viral and were covered by all manner of major outlets. Anticipation has been high ever since for Millicent Hailes’ feature directorial debut, which promised to be a women-led story that centers a distinctly female and queer perspective both on-screen and off-screen. And, while imperfect, Perfect makes for a stimulating, magical, and grounding look at fast love, the power of sexuality, and the finding of community in unexpected places.
Hailes’ film initially appears like it exists in our current reality, although scatterings of exposition in the first 10 minutes or so establish that this story takes place in a near-future marred by limited and contaminated water. The more far-reaching implications of this crisis are kept under wraps, but it is clear that water is no longer an easily accessible resource for our protagonist Kai.
While the film uses the water crisis as a unique backdrop for its story, it affords little time to fleshing this concept out beyond a rather surface-level metaphor. Kai aimlessly drives across a water-barren country and lives a reserved, solemn life. This changes when she comes across a rare water sanctuary, introducing her to a band of friends, an enigmatic woman, and joy for the first time in a while. The contrast between Kai’s water-devoid depression and her new lease on life brought about upon discovering the lake makes for a superficial, at best, allegory. Given the film’s reluctance to do anything else with this backdrop for the story, one can’t help but think that Perfect would change very little, if at all, with its removal entirely.
Thankfully, the resistance to exploring the water crisis is a flaw that remains in the periphery throughout Perfect. That is because the film is far more interested in exploring the struggle and growth of Kai, brilliantly realized through a star-making performance by Ashley Moore. The I Know What You Did Last Summer television series alum makes such a compelling lead, shrouded in mystery and tormented by the lack of direction in her life. Kai seems determined to travel across the country, as if she has somewhere to go, but one can’t shake the feeling that she has no actual destination in mind. She resists the friendly store clerk Sunny’s suggestions to stick around, before eventually succumbing and, soon after, falling under the spell of Julia Fox’s wealthy pregnant woman.
Moore shines through Perfect. The young actress manages to convey such rich emotion, in particular inner turmoil, to the audience without relying on massive dialogue dumps to do so. As Kai gradually grows close to Julia Fox’s Mallory, Moore sells every development of the burgeoning relationship, a testament to the authenticity embedded in her performance. The strength of Moore’s turn and the investment she is able to cultivate mean that the ecstatic highs and devastating lows of Kai’s romance with Mallory are palpably felt by the audience. Even viewers left unimpressed by the surrounding film will almost certainly come away believing that Ashley Moore is an emerging actress to look out for.
Julia Fox, meanwhile, plays Kai’s love interest Mallory in remarkably mesmerizing fashion. Fox, who has steadily built a solid filmography in the indie film sphere in recent years, envelops her character in intrigue. Why is she so friendly and welcoming to Kai? Who is the father of her baby? How does she have the money to afford an idyllic cabin in such difficult times? These questions linger, but Kai, much like the audience, is so enraptured by Mallory and the love that the older woman offers her that she is willing to overlook all manner of warning signs. In doing so, Perfect deftly encapsulates the exhilaration and willful ignorance fostered by sudden, passionate love. Many viewers will likely resonate with the tale of a downtrodden woman, marred by identity struggles, who falls head over heels for another person and ignores the red and yellow flags as they are, at last, actually seen and appreciated by someone.
While generally slow paced, Perfect comes to life as the bond between Kai and Mallory grows, giving way to a host of intense sex scenes. Hailes’ film pioneers a new approach to on-screen intimacy as intimacy coordinator Darci Fulcher employed ongoing and evolving consent, which enabled the actors to shift their boundaries in real-time while filming sex scenes. This novel approach to on-screen intimacy definitely evidences itself as the film features organic sex scenes that feel more free-flowing, authentic, and erotic than the vast majority of sex scenes in other movies and shows. Those looking for a more steamy watch will almost certainly come away satisfied with Perfect’s depiction of sex. While nudity is seldom shown, there’s plenty of passion, pregnant lesbian sex, panty sniffing, and FKA Twigs music to get the pulse racing.
Perfect maintains the momentum of its intense approach to on-screen sex into its third act. Although the developments of the narrative are largely predictable, the raw emotion underlying Moore’s performance ensures that the reveals strike a devastating emotional chord. These emotions become all the more acute as, paralleling Kai and Mallory’s relationship, is Kai’s growing bond with Sunny, the trans masc store clerk that, through an exceedingly warm performance by Lío Mehiel, becomes the understated heart of the film. As Hailes’ movie concludes, the viewer is left to reckon with the remnants of a fiercely powerful romance and the unexpected found family we can stumble on in the most difficult of times, all the while drawing strong parallels to the gamut of emotions real-life relationships and romance foster.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Anchored by a star-making turn from Ashley Moore, the new SXSW premiere Perfect is an intriguing, seductive, and unapologetically raw lesbian romance story. Director and co-writer Millicent Hales’ directorial debut strangely underuses the backdrop of a water crisis in its story but excels in its stimulating, magical, and grounding look at fast love, the power of sexuality, and the finding of community in unexpected places. Ashley Moore commands the screen with a performance that immediately earns empathy and ensures that viewers palpably feel every high and low of her character’s sordid romance. Julia Fox, meanwhile, mesmerizes as the enigmatic and alluring Mallory, while sharing magnetic chemistry with her on-screen love interest. Employing a novel approach to on-screen sex scenes, Hales’ film will satisfy viewers in pursuit of a steamy watch as, even in the absence of nudity, the organic and free-flowing depiction of sex is certain to get the pulse racing. As the film progresses into a rather predictable third act and rising star Lío Mehiel demonstrates that they are the understated heart of the film, Perfect leaves one reckoning with emotions and experiences surrounding sudden romance and chosen family that will likely resonate with many. While Moore enthusiastically urged the SXSW crowd to “leave horny” upon watching the movie, Perfect does far more than that – it strikes a deeply resonant emotional chord through its raw, authentic, and moving portrayal of the extraordinary highs and devastating lows of love.