The Perfect Life

In filmmaker Sam Lee's The Perfect Life, poverty, drugs, and violence regularly disrupt the lives of five Harlem teenagers: Raymond, Lauren, Lizzie, Troy, and Natkhia, whom Lee first met in 1992, when she was their second and third grade teacher at the Neighborhood Storefront School, an alternative, tuition-free private school in Harlem. In 2002, Lee revisits the five teens—now 17 and finishing high school—following them over an 18-month period. In candid interviews, the young men and women reveal their ambitions, hopes, and dreams, while also describing the realities of their daily lives. Natkhia admits that she was dismissed from school due to poor attendance, then moments later, talks about attacking her cousin with a knife. Lauren adopts the Bahai faith while living in the projects and wins a poetry competition; Lizzie attends a boarding school in rural Massachusetts but seems torn between city and country life; and Troy and Raymond are struggling to complete their education, while constantly resisting the dangerous lure of street life. Their stories, combined with earlier footage of the children at school and summer camp, create vivid profiles of young and complicated lives. Without lecturing to her subjects or the audience, Lee underscores the fact that lack of family support has significant repercussions for teens living in a challenging urban setting. DVD extras include a director's statement, photo gallery, and a downloadable study guide. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Wadland)