Chasing Perfect is a 2019 documentary about one of the most influential automotive designers in history.
Most of you probably don’t think all that much about cars, at least beyond your daily need of them or that moment in the dealer’s lot when you make your choice. For many though, cars are more than transportation, they are expressions of individuality, passion, and desires. Then there are designers, who sink far deeper into the void, driven by a seemingly survival-bred instinctive need to be part of the innovation.
That’s where car designer Frank Stephenson found himself as a young man, apparently so moved by the shape and look of cars at an early age, it’s fueled everything that would move him forward since. If you don’t know his name, that’s probably not all that surprising, but you know his cars. Ever heard of the Mini Cooper (Mini Hatch)? A Ferrari F430? Fiat 500? Of course you have. This is Stephenson, who spent years at Ford and then BWM and then Ferrari-Maserati and McLaren. His work has been the leading light for how modern high-performance vehicles are designed.
Director Helena Coan invites us into Stephenson’s life, touring us through his long history and the influence of his parents, who fostered his love of engines and art, beginning with motocross in Spain, where he thrived. From there, he made his way to the highly competitive Art Center College of Design in California and earned relevance where he was offered a position in Germany to work for Ford and a fast track to great influence.
Coan doesn’t waste any time in diving into Stephenson’s world, putting him right on screen, letting him talk, and he never stops, which is exactly the right choice. This isn’t a sit down with talking heads but a guided walkthrough of Stephenson’s story with him at the front sharing what he can. It’s a comfortable approach with no intrusions from an interviewer, letting the man explain his past by bringing us to these moment in a personal way. He’s fun to listen to, clearly fired up by his path in life and joyful to share how nature and the love of pen to paper have steered his vision. His description of how he designed the Mini Cooper is both enlightening and funny, leaving you never to look at it the same way again.
Chasing Perfect isn’t just for car enthusiasts, though naturally those who are will find plenty to get lost in, with noted vehicle lover Jay Leno making an appearance. Coan finds great humanity in Stephenson’s story without contriving any of it to be more than what it is. There are peaks and valleys in his life, like any of us, but the film sticks mostly to his designs and the motivations behind them, with some honest and raw moments that ground Stephenson in ways to keep his extraordinary story accessible. Recommended.