The Perfect 46 (2014) User Reviews

Not terrible

[BomageMinimart · 5/10 · 26 June 2017]

This is a mostly expository film, so if you don't like people yammering, you're prolly not gonna like it.

I agree with many others that the film breaks some good rules such as:

Complete lack of sympathetic characters. The ostensible protagonist is a jerk. His main business rival is a smarmy clown, like a real life Sideshow Bob ffs. The two burglars are ciphers until the very end and then the main one just comes across as a pathetic idiot.

And the end is the worst part. All this build up and then there's no release, no cathartic moment, no resolution at all.

The film does contain an interesting take on the potential upsides and downsides to widespread genetic testing, but it fails as a film.

I don't regret watching it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not already interested in the debate within. And I certainly will never watch it again.

Excruciating

[krazykigger · 1/10 · 4 September 2014]

This film had an interesting concept, but lacked all elements that make a film watchable. The dialogue alone made me want to pull my hair out. It takes question and answer dialogue to a whole new meaningless level. The lead actor had no connection to anything and was excruciating to watch. The ending was so anticlimactic and predictable, but also confusing and cliché'. I'm confused as to what the director was trying to say with this film. There wasn't any address to why the main character wanted this so badly. If he wanted to just help people, why did he charge money for the service? Did he hate having OCD so much that he created this formula? And why was the OCD never mentioned? I was counting down the minutes for this boring, pointless film to just end.

A very neat concept but, the directors did not do this topic justice!!

[sexton-timothy · 7/10 · 25 November 2014]

Review -- The Perfect 46 was supposed to be a science fiction movie but, this science is actually fact! There are several start-up companies using the concept of DNA matchmaking today, just google "DNA romance".

I felt the directors took this concept in an unlikely direction and turned the idea of DNA matchmaking into Frankenstein's monster. I felt they missed the real value people would see in a DNA based matchmaking. The perfect 46 pretends that DNA based matchmaking will only give health reports and the idea has no other value.

Education -- Unlike what is described in the perfect 46 there are no companies offering health based compatibility reports. The approach these DNA matchmaking companies use for compatibility reports is based on opposite HLA genes, meaning the have couple will have biological chemistry, they will find that their partners odor smells sexy.

All talk, no action makes for a dull film

[davidkhardman · 3/10 · 29 April 2014]

Written and directed by Brett Ryan Bonowicz, The Perfect 46 charts the rise and fall of Jesse Darden, the creator of a website that assesses the genetic compatibility of would-be parents, and later develops into a glorified dating website. Whit Hertford's performance as Darden is one of the few things I can recommend about The Perfect 46. When Derden is on the up Hertford brings to the role a passionate intensity that is reminiscent of Steve Jobs and other wunderkind from the modern tech industry. Likewise, Hertford does a great job of conveying dark despair, with an element of obsessive-compulsive behaviour, once things start to go wrong for Darden. A turning point for Darden comes when his own product shows him to be sterile and his wife leaves him. Later, there are also company problems to be faced.

Unfortunately, The Perfect 46 violates a couple of key principles of movie-making. Firstly, rather than letting action drive the plot and letting characters' behaviours reveal their thoughts and attitudes, large swathes of the film are given to interminable explanations and ethical discussions. If I wanted to have issues relating to genetic matchmaking explained to me, I would read a book or watch a documentary; in film fiction, however, extended explanation is frankly a bore. The Perfect 46 presents us with company executives giving explanations to news programmes, with executives expounding in the boardroom, and at one point there is even a dinner party at which characters bat the issues back and forth at great length. Part of the plot involves two hooded men breaking into Darden's country retreat, where one of them then engages in even more philosophical discussion with Darden.

The second problem is the lack of any sympathetic character. Darden himself is the central figure in the film. Unfortunately, we are never given any reason to care about him. You might think that being diagnosed as sterile would give the viewer some reason to feel for Darden, but ironically he mostly behaves like a prick.

In the final scene of the film, the reason for the intruders' break-in is made clear. Frustratingly, the dialogue at this point becomes quite intense and convincing. In one sense you could say the film ended on a high point, but on the other hand this last segment also hinted at how much better the rest of the film could have been.

Didn't make the point I think it meant to

[jvenus-07339 · 2/10 · 7 March 2021]

I am assuming this movie's intent was to warn about why eugenics is bad. But it was written from a very ableist perspective still (though not "as" bad as the main plot).

I'll not get into spoilers. But if you have any concept about real ableism and eugenics, just don't watch this.

99.95 % is not good enough

[donb-519-335075 · 8/10 · 26 January 2014]

Debuting on January 25th, as part of Winter Garden's StarLite Festival, Brett Ryan Bonowitz' latest feature film is a smash. It chronicles the rise and fall of Jess Darden, played masterfully by Whit Hertford, and his genetic engineering company, The Perfect 46. The story of The Perfect 46 and their efforts to rid the world of a number of devastating diseases is told thru a home invasion of Jesse's residence and a video which documents the rise and fall of the company.

Coming across in a "Steve Jobs" like story, the video (which is being viewed by one of the home invaders) shows how Jesse's vision and of a disease free world through using his algorithm to test couples who are going to procreate gets corrupted and eventually leads to his downfall.

The skill with which this micro-budget film is presented is impressive - worthy of any of Hollywood's multi million dollar efforts. And the beauty of indie movies like this is is that you know you have seen some of the actors (in my case both Whit Hertford and David Neher), but you cannot quite place them.

The film explores the familiar territory of how far man should go in protecting future generations from disease through genetic engineering. But this treatment of the subject is fresh and could have been extracted from a number of the .coms or other visionary companies who started out strong with a clear vision, were initially successful, and suffered a set back which eventually brought them down. The film captures that youthful enthusiasm and idealism, as well as the impact that the media, the government , and society in general play in evaluating and encouraging or destroying these kinds of efforts. The only card which was not played in the film was the religious one - which would have certainly been present in the real world. Nevertheless, the film sparked a very thoughtful discussion between myself and my daughter.

Even though the StarLite Festival is not over (I couldn't wait to write the review), I will be surprised if The Perfect 46 is not a strong candidate for an award.

Enjoy, DonB

Brave and Intriguing

[a_ga_tha · 8/10 · 6 May 2014]

The Perfect 46

The Perfect 46 follows in a recent trend in science fiction, that is more interested in exploring the potential of human experience than actually depicting that future through CGI and fancy sets. The Perfect 46 offers new slant on this trend though; whereas the work of Shane Carruth, Gareth Edwards and Duncan Jones focuses on ordinary people dealing with future concepts. The Perfect 46 looks at the experience of the person who has invented the new 'thing' and who has to take responsibility for it when it fails.

That person is Jesse Darden, creator of theperfect46.com: a website service which takes the genome sequence of you and your partner and tells you the likelihood of any future child inheriting a life altering condition.

The film is an interesting mix of stories than depict Jesse's life in various different ways. Snapshots of his personal life and the business' development are contrasted with a tense and slightly sinister break-in at Jesse's home and the discovery, by one of the burglars, of a TV-style documentary about the company and Jesse (which does well to provide all the contextual information and science-fictionally elements of the plot).

In combining these elements the film is able to convey a lot of information whilst still having the space to explore the impact of theperfect46.com in a more naturalistic way. The central example being an extended dinner party scene, where the guests challenge Jesse on his ideals and a technology conference where Jesse spells out his idealistic view of theperfect46.com.

These aspects of the film are so unusual and well conceived that it is almost disappointing that the film takes a more emotional turn in the ending, revealing the motivation of one of the burglars is connected to a very personal experience.

The Perfect 46 is a remarkably brave film that deals with the difficult topic of eugenics, calls into question the responsibility of the dotcom tycoons who have a significant affect on everyday lives and doing so without grandstanding special effects but with a naturalistic and intricate script and an outstanding central performance by Whit Hertford.

Great, through provoking story

[alisonchriss · 10/10 · 5 November 2020]

Great acting, direction and wonderful written story. I recommend it to many.

This movie is important now, in this time of increasing advances in genetic sequencing.

[pamlincez · 8/10 · 27 January 2015]

What I most enjoyed and loved about The Perfect 46 was after almost every scene I was left with a question in my mind about the ethics of scientific discovery. As a scientist, I was questioning my own work and pursuit of a new therapy for a debilitating autoimmune disease and the implications of my work. One of the main derivatives of the disease I study is an underlying genetic risk for the disease. There are specific genes that increase susceptibility for the disease in children and although, the subject of The Perfect 46 borders eugenics, the concept of trying to eliminate genetic risk associated with disease does seem like an appealing therapeutic approach. A 'pseudo-dating' genetic screening site may not be the best answer however.

From scene to scene I questioned what I would do in each of the conflicts Jesse Darden, the lead, would face- from a scientist and from a citizen perspective. This movie is important now, in this time of increasing advances in genetic sequencing. Ethical issues about what can and should be done with the accumulation of big data from large genetic sequencing studies needs to be addressed. The Perfect 46 thoroughly portrays how our technology is advancing faster than our understanding of its implications.

From an artistic perspective, I thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity and nod to retro artifacts in most of the locations in The Perfect 46. It was also interesting to see the character portrayal of a scientist as someone who became quite power and business driven. There are of course many of those types out there, as there are introverted academics that enjoy their quiet magnificent discoveries from behind the lab bench.

The Perfect 46 is a well-written, well-directed film that integrates a highly technical scientific discovery in to a refreshing question answer dialogue driven by an unexpected scientist character. This film is a treat to watch and I highly recommend it if you're in to or want to learn more about the repercussions of advancing technologies like this new era of next generation sequencing.