The film is a drawn out tale of a young man seeking to find the perfect wave but in the end finds a different kind of wave. Scott's character appeared aloof, as he should have, but it left the viewer unconvinced and unable to connect. His mother only laughed, cried, or prayed, leaving one with the sense Ian was really running away from the "perfect" family. While the cinematography was reminiscent of Endless Summer, showing superb footage of New Zealand, Australia, Bali/Indonesia, South Africa and Mauritius, and the first song set the tone early on with the waves, and made sense, the overly-loud musical interludes distract the viewer away from the plot. The characters were clumsy and the timing of some of their lines appeared forced and wooden. Ian, spoke without an accent, yet the car pulling into the family's driveway with a foreign license plate gave away that they were not in America, yet it isn't revealed where he lived until after the second act. Some parts, such as when Ian got stung were over-dramatized and drawn out too long, or his mother getting a sense that something was wrong with her son, with no explanation as to why or how, or praying on end, while the important parts, such as the "breakup," which were never seen, left the viewer guessing about Ian's friendship with Anabel, or how he is unaware of her relationship with the brother-in-law whom he was previously friends with. Unsure who the intended audience is, but this isn't a surf movie. While the main message is thought provoking, the movie leaves one asking a lot of questions, but ultimately leaves one with, "Why did I watch this movie?"
Review of The Perfect Wave
