Perfection (Michael's Story) (2017)

Perfection is the powerful and poignant story of an extraordinary 17-year-old, special-needs student; who, because of arrant cruelty towards him, is driven to the precipice of a fatal despondency. By the time he was a high school freshman, Michael Rodriguez had been diagnosed with high functioning autism (Asperger's Syndrome) further complicated by a serious speech impairment. Now a senior. he has continued to be the victim of bullying since elementary school, Michael also struggles with intrusive thoughts of derision that have been with him since the second grade. Despite the harsh reality he lives with, Michael has distinguished himself as a brilliant, straight-A student - seemingly destined for a great future. Everyone believes it, but him. He feels his life has never been his own. However, Michael's gravest issue continues to be the ruthless bullying he's forced to confront on a daily basis. When the physical and verbal torment extends to social media, Michael's devastation devolves into an utterly despondent depression. He decides to take his own life, rather than bear the burden of more cruel abuse. Near the end of the school day, Michael shares his plans, via text, with Sabrina Patterson, the only friend he knows he can trust. Sabrina races against time in a desperate effort to save Michael from brutally killing himself.