In her first directorial and writing attempt for film, Helena Coan takes on a very ambitious project of depicting the career of Frank Stephenson. According to Autoblog Stephenson is “one of the most influential automotive designers of our time.” The documentary is called Chasing Perfect and it’s a testimony to both Coan’s filmmaking and Stephenson’s amazing accomplishments.
“Design for me is desire to create emotionally aesthetic stimulating perfection. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve perfection. You’re never completely satisfied. That unsatisfied feeling, although it sounds negative, is actually what drives the designer to do it better the next chance he’s got. I don’t know what I can do that is more appropriate than design to someone’s satisfatic craving. If it’s not perfect you gotta make it perfect”. Frank Stephenson.
The films first chapter starts at Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles where Frank shows his admiration for cars, from the early buggies like the first Cadillac to race cars to modern day marvels. Then frank goes into his life from his first love of cars to his life of designing. He gets a lot of ideas for auto design using animals as his basis from wolves to horses to horsepower.
He visits with creative designers like Stewart Reed a former teacher of design. Frank actually took one of his classes from Reed who was working at the Toyota Studio of Design in New Port Beach, California at the time. They chat about the romance of design and the value of hand drawing over computers.
His terms at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena was a jump off point to his achieving the level of design he became. Going on to design the Mini, BMW, Fiat, Ferrari, Maserati, McLaren, and others. Frank immersed himself in his work always looking for perfection. Right up to the science fiction thrills of his working on Evtol Jet, he’s still involved in its experimental stage. In this chapter, you’ll be astonished at how far transportation has advanced.
In one chapter he chats with the former host of the Tonight Show, comedian Jay Leno. He’s a mega car enthusiast who has a huge warehouse size garage of his own filled with his collection of cars he loves best. The cars are all speedsters from as far back as early carmakers. He even fires up an early firetruck that’s on display.
Chasing Perfect is one documentary you won’t want to miss, especially if you are a car enthusiast or looking to excel in design. It’s now available on VOD so check it out on available media.
FINAL ANALYSIS: One of the better documentaries this year. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Frank Stephenson with Jay Leno
Directed and written by: Helena Coan
Genre: Documentary, Automotive
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains no offensive material
Running Time: 1 hr. 31 min.
Opening Date: July 9, 2019
Distributed by: 1091Media
Released on: VOD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
