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From 30,000 feet, the plot is simple(ish).
Charlotte is clearly running a game, but we dont know why.
But the true wonder ofThe Perfectioncomes at the end.
At his family-run Bachoff Academy of Music, that means a generations-long tradition of systematic child rape.
Its also where Anton and his lackeys administer their most terrible punishments.
I knew the second we lined up the shot that it was gorgeous, says Shepard.
It also says a lot that they dont see her feet, because her dress covers them.
In their minds, shes willingly performing for them.
In the Chapel, Charlotte is tasked with performing both a feminine ideal as well as a composition.
And thats the big trick of the scene.
Its triggering, obviously.
And yet Charlotte and Lizzie have the upper hand.
She now has an ally in the room, whereas before she never did.
He drew inspiration from the scandal-sieged Catholic Church.
The two kiss passionately, and their path to Anton is clear.
Anton begs for mercy as Lizzie, brandishing a meat cleaver, lunges for him.
Here, Shepard makes a crucial editorial choice.
Charlottes resolve turns to paralysis and the sounds of struggle become white noise.
Its bothI get to make it rightand alsoOh my God.
Im in this house.
Im back in this school.
The guy is right here.
The terror of those two things fighting each other is an epic battle in that moment.
Its messy and its painful.
She hopes it will be triumphant, but its also scarier and more real than she ever imagined.
Its a new life.
Its a twisted life, but its back.
and Wheres her full arc?
Ill probably never forget how cathartic it felt to play the badass moments.
Happily Ever After Kind Of
The final shot of the movie works as a kind of epilogue.
We cut back to the Chapel, where a chair and cello have been placed.
Its Anton, and he faces the stage as Lizzie and Charlotte enter.
His eyes and mouth have been stitched shut, with a feeding tube run up his nose.
Whats left of his appendages moves slightly as his breathing causes his muscles to softly convulse.
The after-effects of violence take precedence onscreen rather than the violence itself.
When we tested the movie, the financier was like, Do you need that last scene?
And Im like, this is why I made the movie, says Shepard.
I need to see Steven Weber decimated, and at the same time, theyre playing for him?
Theyre feeding him and cleaning him, but theyve also tortured him and theyre living their life.
This is their life, and its not a happy ending.
Its not a sad ending, but its a victory.
