[2] Charlotte Willmore is a talented young cellist who left Bachoff, a prestigious music school in Boston, to care for her terminally ill mother.

Following her mother's death, Charlotte reaches out to Anton, the head of Bachoff, who invites her to Shanghai in hopes of selecting a new student.

She explains her recollection of events to Anton and Paloma, and that she was discovered unconscious on the side of the road with a makeshift tourniquet keeping her alive.

In flashbacks, Charlotte had also experienced years of rape and torture at the hands of Anton for failing to achieve musical "Perfection."

Anton brings Charlotte to the Chapel and forces her to perform, saying a small mistake will result in Zhang receiving the same treatment.

Some unspecified time later, Anton, his mouth and eyes sewn shut and limbs amputated, is forced to listen as Charlotte and Lizzie perform for him in the Chapel playing as one, each compensating for the other's missing hand.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Led by a pair of compelling performances, The Perfection is a smart, gripping thriller that barbs its wild twists with cutting wit.

[2] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote that the film's story "is easier to admire than actually like, given somewhat repellent content grounded in character psychology that does not bear close scrutiny after these terse 90 minutes are over", but added: "the icily well-crafted gamesmanship Shepard and company have devised certainly makes that time pass quickly, if uncomfortably.

"[11] Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail was more critical, giving the film a score of 1.5/4 and writing: "most everyone who watches The Perfection will instead be staring at the screen slack-jawed, dumbfounded at the gory silliness they endured.