Aahana Swrup
‘The Perfect Setting’ is a romance Hallmark film that follows an unexpected love story that weaves itself between two jewelers from rival families. Abby Vandenbrink is an aspiring jewelry designer who travels to Antwerp to help her grandfather with a roadblock in his business. During this short vacation, she ends up getting roped into participating in the annual Antwerp Diamond Competition, going head-to-head against Vandenbrink’s local competition, Remy and Sons. However, instead of forging any rivalry with the Remy heir, Alexander, Abby ends up secretly befriending the man. Yet, their family’s petty feud, their own complicated pasts, and the result of the coveted competition threaten to ruin what could be their happy ending. SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Perfect Setting: A Romeo and Juliet Romance in Belgium
True to its name, ‘The Perfect Setting’ finds an invaluable asset in its fairytale-esque setting as the scenic Antwerpian small town comes to life on the screen under Jonathan Wright’s direction. The idyllic backdrop adds a touch of magic to Abby and Alexander’s glittering romance that unfolds over the course of a cutting competition. The chemistry between the two leads is instantly noticeable—something that the narrative takes advantage of from the get-go through an early setup to their tentative friendship. Furthermore, with its clever “home is where the heart is” prompt, the overarching competition swiftly paves the way for a natural romantic progression within their dynamic.
As such, Abby and Alexander grab the audience’s attention quickly with their secret meet-ups and flirty banter, all under the intriguing banner of a forbidden family-drama-infested romance. Even apart from the central love story, the film knows how to keep you engaged as the narrative seamlessly puppets multiple narrative threads without becoming jumbled. As such, by the time the plotlines reach their conclusions, you’re bound to have grown invested in the outcomes of the Belgian jewelers’ lives. The ending is another pleasant surprise as it boldly deviates from the expected and delivers a fairytale conclusion without playing into many cliches. Yet, the scarce few cliches that the ending does play into—notably that of Peter Remy’s storyline—make their weight known. Still, overall, it delivers a satisfying and fascinating time that fans of the genre won’t want to miss out on.
The Perfect Setting Plot Summary
Abby Vandenbrink has always dreamed of becoming a jewelry designer. Yet, her job as a Chicago jewelry technician barely offers her opportunities to make her dreams come true. Even when she manages to sneak in enough time to sketch out her ideas, she is woefully lacking in the rather expensive supplies to make prototypes that will win him a seat at the table. However, right when she’s feeling particularly unmoored in her life, she receives a phone call from a Belgian bank informing her of some banking troubles her grandfather’s business in Antwerp is facing. Consequently, Abby jets off to the European city to help out her beloved grandfather and maybe even scavenge some inspiration from the beautiful city.
Shortly after her arrival in town, Abby manages to inadvertently steal a customer from Remy and Sons, the jewelry store that is her grandfather’s biggest competition. The interaction sets up a short-lived rivalry between her and Alexander Remy, who manages to bait her into putting her name down for the Antwerp Diamond Competition in her grandfather’s stead. On his part, Grandpa Laurent remains excited to see his granddaughter fabricate her design from scratch. Furthermore, Abby realizes that she can use the prize money to fix Vandenbrink’s financial issues and use her free time to make some improvements around the shop to bring in more traffic. Eventually, once Peter Remy learns about the change-up in this year’s roster for the competition, he impulsively puts his son down to represent the company to create hype around second-generation rivalry.
However, this throws a wrench in Alexander’s path. Even though the man is incredible at the business side of running a jewelry store, he isn’t good with its creative demands. Therefore, he comes up with an unusual proposal: he asks Abby to help him with his design in exchange for his help with setting up an online shop for Vandenbrink. As a result, the duo find themselves meeting up in secret for discussions and impromptu outings that start to look dangerously like dates. It also opens up the space for them to share their own pasts and truly get to know each other in a matter of days. Nonetheless, their dalliance can only remain secret for so long.
After a rather brave venture to the local Carrats and Cupid dance together, Abby and Alexander are found out by Laurent and Peter. Consequently, both patriarchs attempt to shut down this budding friendship, insisting that their wards need to focus on the competition. Nevertheless, neither of the young jewelers pay heed to their warnings and meet up again that night. Abby helps Alexander fix the stone on his final piece, and the night inevitably ends in a kiss. Still, as the next day rolls around, both are equally as determined to win. Abby particularly has something to prove since her boss, Nadia, from Chicago, shows up for the event, creating an opportunity for her career to progress.
Alas, Alexander learns a damning secret moments after the pieces go out to be judged by judges and the audience. As it turns out, his father had rigged the competition all along in his favor. Thus, Alexander realizes his father never trusted him to be able to win off his own merit and was willing to cheat the other participants of a fair chance. For the same reason, he withdraws from the competition at the last moment. However, in his inner turmoil, he also leaves Abby high and dry by ignoring her texts and calls. Although his silence hurts, Abby remains determined to see the competition through and hopefully return to Chicago with her dream job.
Ultimately, Abby’s piece—a bracelet made in her departed grandmother’s memory—fails to win the competition. Yet, it snags the Audience Favorite award. Apparently, the award holds much merit and is enough to convince Nadia to make her a designer in her decorated store. Still, Abby can’t help but feel a sense of failure since she can no longer use the prize money to save her grandfather’s shop. On the other hand, Laurent seems to have accepted his predicament, and his old age is compelling him to consider retirement anyway. However, as he passes the shop—and its contents—to Abby, she has a brilliant idea.
Laurent has a precious uncut diamond that he had held onto from the beginning as a good luck charm for the shop. Once he passes it off to Abby, she decides to use it to save the shop from going under. The young jeweler sells the diamond to her boss and decides to strike out on her own right here in Antwerp. Lastly, after she settles the store’s mortgage, all that is left to do is invite Alexander for a grand romantic confession by the scenic bridge. As it turns out, the other jeweler has also managed to settle his complications with his father, who finally realizes his worth as an artist after seeing his entry for the competition. Thus, with nothing standing between them, the pair finally come together, eager to find a home in one another.
Read More: The Perfect Setting: Filming Locations and Cast Details
