Far from Perfect: Life Inside a Global Pandemic
The three months since the country went on lockdown, places closed (or went to curbside service only) and most everyone’s life changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic have been fascinating to watch. One gets the feeling that, maybe, we all panicked too hard at the start, leaving us very few places to go psychologically save for restlessness and wanting to get back to a return to normal. It certainly hasn’t been that way for everyone, but as a collective society, it’s been clear that we’re not equipped to deal with the stress and anxiety of something like this in a way that benefits said society best. All of this is prologue to discussing “Far From Perfect: Life Inside a Global Pandemic,” a dramatic work that explores over 100 individual mindsets not long after the pandemic began. It’s a pretty big meal of a movie.
As the film from directors Nathan Suher (who also edited the film) and Lenny Schwartz (who wrote the screenplay) unfolds, I couldn’t help but be reminded of “Waking Life.” In that Richard Linklater film, the protagonist (played by Wiley Wiggins) goes through a series of dream scenarios, listening to philosophical discussions on life, society, and the nature of humanity. During “Far From Perfect,” I felt very much like Wiggins’s character in that movie, being whisked away, from one interaction to another, watching people’s personal philosophies and worldviews unfold as their story since the pandemic is told. It’s an interesting narrative structure that works very well with this type of film, having to be made this way, and it’s enriching.
“Far From Perfect” does not have an overarching narrative to it beyond all these characters existing during the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. Occasionally, two or more characters are connected to one another, as we see multiple sides of relationships and situations, but the moments we see with the characters are simple, almost confessional moments during a larger moment. We do not need a larger story to become connected with these individuals, because even if we are not familiar with the particular struggles or lives they lead, we understand the emotions, because we have probably lived through them ourselves. I did feel like the film was too long, especially since everyone’s perspective is being told the same way, with little deviation, but we stick with it not because it’s easy, but because it’s relatable. In the first month of this pandemic, of social distancing, of not working, I felt a lot of the same emotions we see onscreen, and then, as it wore on, I felt some of the other emotions, some of the other stresses. Now, I’m at the point where yes, I am ready to get back to it, but not without concern for myself and others being paramount. I feel that restlessness, as well, but I also want to be smart about it; I’m curious if these characters would feel the same now. “Far From Perfect” lives up to that title as a film, but it is perfect as a representation of this unique moment in modern history.
