The Intersection of Love, Age, and Ambition (On and Off the Screen)
The Perfect Find, released by Netflix in 2023, was advertised as a light comedy about a woman struggling to balance the difficult and often complicated mixture of rekindling her career and falling in love.. But unlike the glossy trailer, the actual story, both in front of and behind the camera, was something far more complicated and human.The making of this film walked in parallel of the film’s actual narrative and treasure the courage to start anew in a world that tries to convince you otherwise.
In the case of Gabrielle Union, the film was not just a work appointment, but a chance at something more personal to her, something that would serve as an analogy for the craft of reinventing oneself, and yes, the execution of that craft through the lens of a woman’s vulnerability, something society often opposes and rejects, both on the emotional and professional front. No doubt, the witty banter and the reflections of the glittering city on the characters’ moods told the story well, but they also told the story of the struggles that cast a shadow on the hardships of production: the emotional struggles, the breakdown of synchronized calendars, struggling to hold leaves that rooted deep in the soil, and the hinges of hope, all culminating in the realization that love stories like this one were worth all the struggles.
A comeback story — on and off screen
The story centers on Jenna Jones `(Uniom)`, a fashion editor in her early forties. In the beginining, her long-time career is cut off because of a scandal and she is forced to rebuild her tarnished reputation. In the beginning of her getting off career, she tries to get a job from one of the most popular social media and public relations brands, where she has to work under her former rival,`Torres` `(`portraye`d` by “Gina `Torres` with `snappy `accuracy`)`. Right when she starts to `garner` some stability, she crosses paths with her `sudden` boss’ son`(Eric)` `played by `Keith Powers` and chaos follows in the `positive` romantic way.
The actor that uniquely and adequately represents the role of Jenna is Gabrielle Union. What differs Jenna’s captivating presence in the film compared to the work of other actors is that Gabrielle Union’s acting felt the most personal. Union’s, who has experienced and suffered the injustices of Hollywood’s challenges from `discrimination`, `racism`, `to `lack of `inclusiveness`, and `lack of `recognition`, has long been the victim of injustices in/within `Hollywood`.
In an interview on Good Morning America, Union noted, ‘I’ve been the woman told she’s past her moment. So there was something, almost like, therapeutic about playing Jenna, telling myself, I still got something more to say.’
The emotional exhaustion Jenna suffered from nights without sleep, forced smiles, and staring into the void of doubt, were not mere performances. Rather, they were each the result of been on the receiving end of the persistent underestimation suffered throughout the years of a dominantly young and perfectionist industry.
When chemistry had to survive chaos
Deficient balance of on-screen experience and perspective created an electric and delicate chemistry between Union and Powers. Maintaining this chemistry off-screen, however, was not a piece of cake.
On particularly strenuous fourteen hour days of filming, Director Numa Perrier revealed to the staff that we will be completing the more intimate dialogue scenes to get extra takes in the can due to impending deadlines. Perrier explained, “You can feel fatigue in your eyes… the longing. It wasn’t just the characters becoming tired- we exhausted too ywah yah!”
However, all this filming was exhausting to more than just Perrier and the crew. A plethora of budgetary constraints necessitated filming to be done in much less time as to be cost efficient. Members of the crew explained the mindset of the production as, “a sprint as a marathon”; however, the production did use time as judiciously as possible, like cutting down on lighting setups and flying through wardrobe decisions. New York’s unpredictable weather also was a consistent hindrance to the shooting days.
However, all through the fatigue, the staff presented a silent determination, and the same drive Jenna fights for, to prove that the struggle was worth the end result.
However, the Perfect Find will shine on the big screen due to the dazzling outfits and presentation, coupled with a message about the hidden themes that are more relevant today than displays the to we burned out in the production, ageism in the movie industry, women in power, and the representation of Black women.
The themes the production team tackled were weighty. Crew were primarily women, with many women of color }, in positions where they were the minority in other projects. Perrier described the scene in the filming studio as \”beautiful chaos: women wanting to build something meaningful while the outside world doubted us.\”\ Perrier described the scene as “beautiful chaos – women wanting to build something meaningful while the outside world doubted us.” Union herself reported the pressure of filming perfection balancing motherhood, activism, and production responsibilities. Union described how she found herself in emotional turmoil and uncompromising contradiction wanting to perfect the story while life reminded her perfection is an illusion. The plot becoming the contradiction. The scenes where Jenna is stuck and laughs through her fatigue her exhaustion is real, her sincerity is real, and the fatigue is real. It was born to live. The line between reel and real is crossed and is brilliant. The heartbreak of almost not finishing. The film was almost not completing production. The film faced collapse mid production. New York filming location permits were put on hold due to union strike delays. Costs accumulated, insurance deadlines, and for two weeks the crew were stuck not knowing if The Perfect Find would ever be completed. The crew were stuck.
When fiction started to imitate life
By the moment The Perfect Find was in post-production, life had, in a concerning fashion, begun to replicate the story. Union had battled fatigue and creative stagnation akin to Jenna’s character providing the story with her arc, which was to validate one’s presence in a cut-throat industry.
Keith Powers also revealed in a behind-the-scenes video that the movie affected the way he viewed relationships and the role of openness in vulnerability: “It taught me how to listen — on screen and in real life.”
This may very well be what gives The Perfect Find its emotional richness. It is not simply a romantic narrative involving two individuals at different stages of their lives. It is a love story between the creators and their creation, a love story that integrates the vision and the beautiful mess that life throws at us.
While the film’s most powerful point — that reinvention requires both valor and a certain degree of messiness — was not captured in the script, it was captured in the blood, the sweat, the tears, and the efforts that made it all worthwhile.
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