Perfume - The Story of a Murderer

Germany / France / Spain 2006, 141 minutes
Dir. Tom Tykwer
Rating: [R16] Nudity & content that may disturb.
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Crime / Serial Killers

Topics: Period - 1700s.

Feat. Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Ben Whishaw, John Hurt

Aroview: Lush, faithful adaptation of Patrick Suskind’s 1985 novel, with Ben Whishaw as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the gifted ‘nose’ turned psycho-killer who hunts grimy 18th Century Paris and beyond for the ultimate scent.

A pungent tale of obsession and perfection, both Hoffman and Rickman lend weight in key roles, while Whishaw is quietly disturbing as the film’s homicidal perfumer. A magnificent visual interpretation of an ‘un-filmable’ book, this boasts an Old World milieu oozing with filth and opulence (think Jean-Pierre Jeunet does Louis XIV’s France), but carries many incongruous elements as well: namely, a laughable ‘climax’ of orgasmic proportions that sums up dir. Twyker’s failure to coalesce magical realism with the story of a cold, unsympathetic murderer.

Member Reviews

Average rating (Good Enough). Showing 1-2 of 2 member reviews.

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3 stars (Good Enough) ~Milana
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2 stars (Good Try) An uneven screenplay but at least it was fresh. When it was good it was very good - particularly when our hero was a baby/a young lad. The set designs in these early scenes were brilliant. Alan Rickman shores up the middle but the late scenes are silly. ~Tubbs