Perfect Parents

St Mary of the Veil is depicted as the prestigious Catholic school toward which the family gravitates after Lucy’s knife‑fight. Run by a group of nuns, it upholds traditional values and maintains long enrollment waiting lists that keep potential entrants at arm’s length. The public school environment shown at the outset contrasts with this sanctuary of security, highlighting the pressure to secure a social safe‑haven for Lucy.

🎯 Ambition & Safety

The film uses Lucy’s safety as a catalyst for the parents’ relentless search for a secure and prestigious education. It exposes how fear of danger in public spaces can morph into a fixation on status and appearances. The pursuit of security drives immoral choices and pushes the family toward compromising their values.

🤫 Secrecy & Deception

Lies and half‑truths propel the plot as the family fabricates connections and seeks references for admission. The plan to bribe a priest and manipulate contacts spirals into fraud and blackmail. The story investigates how small evasions escalate into dangerous moral breach and costly consequences.

⚖️ Power & Morality

The school’s hierarchy—principals, nuns, and priests—exerts decisive power over outcomes. The family’s attempts to game the system test the limits of trust and reveal the ethical price of security. Dark secrets from past actions surface, showing that power gambits can backfire in devastating ways.

🎓 Elite Education & Class

The film satirizes the global phenomenon of parental lengths to secure elite schooling, highlighting how opportunity becomes a commodity. It contrasts a desire for safety with the moral costs of wealth‑driven admissions. The narrative questions what safety and opportunity are worth when measured against integrity and consequences.