Eva Riley about PERFECT 10 “The most amazing hair!”

I passionately hate them, those young boys racing their noisy mopeds down my street in a stinking cloud of filthy smoke and deafening noise. If a director succeeds in making me get a warm heart for those kids, it means she must have been very convincing. Furthermore PERFECT 10 takes you to the gym, not a glittering sports temple but a brick building with old-fashioned metal coat hooks, where the odor of sweat-saturated plastic mats fills the room.

The life of Leigh, a 15-year-old gymnast focused on her first competition, is turned upside down when her half-brother Joe she didn’t know existed, comes to stay with her and her father. When her confidence at gymnastics is knocked, Leigh finds herself caught up in an underground world of moped crime. Suddenly finding  the attention she has been craving, Leigh stands at a crossroads in life. Director Eva Riley tells her story with warm understanding and deep respect. That is why she can’t make it to send her characters back into misery by the end of the film. You can watch the trailer here.

The gym as a scenery must have offered you many visual options, like already in the opening scene, with Leigh dangling upside down.

Eva Riley: We had to wait till we found the right gymnastics club so that we could construct the visuals around that. Once we found it I spent a lot of time there getting inspired by the place. I came up with the upside down shot after visiting the club and seeing gymnasts dangle upside down when they were resting. I always planned to shoot the final gymnastics routine in a different way to the rest of the film to give a sense of the progression of Leigh’s mental state.

Is Leigh’s incapability to communicate with others her main obstacle in life?

Riley: At this moment in her life it is a big obstacle for her. She hasn’t always been so bad but she is having a very difficult time. Her dad is also not good at communicating and I think she has learned that from him. It is definitely a problem which seeps into her life as a gymnast, as it’s really important to express your emotions when performing a floor routine.

Luckily her coach knows how to handle her. More than focussing on scores and results, Gemma finds the right tone to speak with Leigh.

Riley: I have spoken to lots of coaches and they are really interesting people, who often have to act as half coach, half therapist. It’s a very tricky balance sometimes. But gymnasts in general really look up to their coaches so it can be a close relationship and Gemma will have known Leigh for many years and got to know how she works.

Can girls like Leigh only stand strong in their world by acting tough and being snappy?

Riley: I think every girl will find her own way to get by in this world and do it in different ways. I think it’s the way that Leigh finds easiest at the moment. It’s easier to snap back at someone sometimes than let your guard down.

Through Leigh’s bond with Joe her self-confidence grows. You see it in every little detail of her actions. How did you get Frankie Box to build up this feeling so gradually and beautifully?

Riley: We talked about the character before and rehearsed and workshopped her character a lot. Frankie is an amazing young actress and understood very well what I was looking for when I gave her directions. She also had a great acting chemistry with Alfie so I was able to work with that to create these small spontaneous moments through improvisation which reflected her changing state. 

The physical tension between Leigh and Joe isn’t an obvious element to the story, although you handled it with great elegance and discretion.

Riley: I didn’t always plan to have this element in there but as I worked on the script I thought it was an interesting angle to take on the story. I wanted to make sure that it didn’t feel gratuitous or off-putting to an audience. I wanted to make it feel understandable that she might have these confused feelings in this new friendship.

Leigh leaves the question “Was you mum a bit alright?” unanswered. That was a meaningful moment?

Riley: Leigh’s mum has died and she finds it really hard to talk about it. She has a lot of weight on her shoulders and she finds it really painful when she is asked about her mum like that. I was really pleased with how that moment came out.

Excuse me for this urgent question but … is her hair real!?!

Riley: Yes! Frankie has the most amazing hair and our hair and makeup artist did a brilliant job bringing the best out in it.

What a ‘healthy’ ending you came up with! I couldn’t think of a more empowering end to this story.

Riley: I always wanted a powerful and emotional ending which brought Joe and Leigh back together. Many people suggested a sad ending but I knew from the very beginning that it should be a happy or at least bittersweet ending. Often with kids like Leigh and Joe in other films the characters have terribly sad endings - but I wanted to give a sense of hope and joy and celebration for these two amazing young people. 

The interview for the Zlín Film Festival was conducted by Gert Hermans. Thank you!