‘Perfect Endings’ - Review
I've always known two things to be at the forefront of my life: I want to be a writer, and I want to be loved. My brain often combines these two ideas into my creative process, affecting how I internalize my life.
In Daniel Ribeiro's Perfect Endings, the main character, Joāo, experiences a similar duality. His attempts to understand his life through a fictional lens are deeply relatable. Perfect Endings follows Joāo as he navigates the aftermath of a ten-year relationship, attempting to get back into the dating scene while simultaneously trying to finish a script.
I’ve long been a fan of Daniel Ribeiro — his debut film, The Way He Looks, is one of my favorite movies ever, and I can comfortably say that I did not expect the trajectory of his follow up. Ribeiro proved with his first feature that he’s more than capable of making a film with a captivating queer romance. He’s also great at making a friend group feel realistic. Perfect Endings understands these strengths and builds upon them both. While it can be occasionally slight in painting its characters, they’re still whole enough to satisfy.
As Joāo tries to move on from his breakup through casual encounters, he starts writing about his experiences, finding comfort in processing his life through art. This is what transforms the film into something special. Writers often blur the lines between reality and fiction, myself included, using their personal lives as fodder for their work. Perfect Endings beautifully captures this process, as the new people in Joāo's life effortlessly become characters in his script. I relate to this type of active fictionalization of his life as I often find myself mentally scripting my experiences, molding the people I meet into characters I can shape at will. For both Joāo and myself, this creative process helps us internalize our relationship, blending our want for love with our need for artistic expression.
The pacing of the film occasionally feels somewhat uneven. The narrative begins abruptly and moves slowly, but finds its rhythm as we watch Joāo explore his past relationships and his new side gig, filming amateur porn. This stop-and-start flow, while sometimes jarring, parallels with the highs and lows of Joāo's life, bringing a sense of authenticity to his life. Occasionally, his friends seem thinly characterized, because they don’t have as much time as Joāo and his love interests. Regardless, they still get a significant amount of development and are a delight onscreen.
Perfect Endings takes an unconventional approach to building tension. Unlike traditional romantic films that build anticipation around couples coming together, this film crescendos towards Joāo's sexual encounters. Getting to that moment gets him out of his writer's block and furthers his career. It also serves to cause a lot of steamy scenes in a romantic comedy-drama that skews erotic. But, it also serves to explore sex scenes and their making. Perfect Endings questions the reasoning behind filming sex. I believe it’s the idea that being around the act isn’t inherently shameful, but a natural way to help one get through something. The sex is often beautifully staged, as are all of the intimate scenes in the movie. Ribeiro puts a lot of care towards its refreshing depiction within the film to prove his point. The sex scenes are necessary in this film, and they’re also simply fun to see, as they should be. The film suggests that engaging with intimate moments isn't inherently shameful, but can be a powerful means of personal growth and artistic expression.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film. Despite feeling shaky at the beginning, it finds a groove that kept me captivated. The performances are excellent, and the script is sharp in a way that isn’t too self-conscious. It stands out as one of the most fulfilling queer films in recent memory, refreshingly saving its most special intimate moments for last and giving them the fanfare they deserve. In a genre where sex often takes center stage from the outset, Perfect Endings offers a more thoughtful approach, using intimacy as a vessel for character development. Ribeiro's careful direction captures moments of intimacy as both necessary and beautifully crafted, blending artistic merit and genuine enjoyment.