Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
(B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' tells the macabre tale of an 18th century French murderer with the most acute sense of smell in the world. Discovering that he loves the scent of women, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) hopes to 'contain' their scent in the form of perfume. It's up to you to decipher how he obsessively achieves this. 'Perfume', directed by Tow Tykwer, is an imaginative, visceral adaptation from a best-selling novel by Patrick Suskind. Most of the movie is hypnotizingly creepy. But an extremely bizarre conclusion can polarize your overall view of this "almost-masterpiece".
Born in poverty, accepted as an orphan, & sold into slavery, Jean-Baptiste knows nothing of parents, proper upbringing, or education; all he knows is his masterful smell of all indigent things. He wants to connect on a social level with humans but simply doesn't know how to. He's alone in a world of his own; it's tragic, really. Upon arrival in Paris, Grenouille discovers the intoxicating fragrance of young womanhood. Entranced, he enlists the help of Italian perfumer, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), to hone his deadly perfume-making skills. Baldini realizes his pupils' innate talent for perfume, but fails to realize Grenouille's psychotic plans.
Midway through his eventual killing rampage, Grenouille realizes that the last 'essential' he needs to cap-off the most exotic perfume in the world, comes in the form of Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), daughter of elitist, Antoine Richis (the always intriguing Alan Rickman). After all, what could be more attractive than a perfume holding the true scents of femininity? Grenouille has become reckless about his obsession; he can't seem to stop himself. Does he want to stop? Can Antoine save his daughter in time? Or will Grenouille continue to kill, preserve, & distill his ultimate perfume to unleash upon a world so desperate for love?
I can easily state what there is to appreciate about 'Perfume'. Its vibrant cinematography & art direction is absolutely, disgustingly gorgeous; pun intended. You feel like you are placed in 18th c. France. Whether it's in streets of squalor, or the decadence of Province ... the layers of colors & textures of dirty cobblestone alleys or sumptuous, flower-laden countrysides are breathtakingly beautiful. Tom Tykwer does an amazing job at allowing us to almost smell the world that Grenouille does; sickeningly, it's as if we're placed in his nostrils for most of the movie. It's just amazing how this is captured. And the musical score is absolutely perfect for the film. It is brooding when it needs to be, light in its' rare whimsy, & thoroughly urgent in ominous moments. However, these aspects of the film (as brilliant as they are) kind of steal the thunder from the simple, but increasingly twisted plot.
Ben Whishaw is unnervingly fantastic as Grenouille. The lonely desperation within his sickness keeps this movie's pulse alive. His raw physicality is incredibly scary, yet, we can also sympathize with him. If he is able to create his perfect perfume, what's to come of it? Does he realize what he's done? Can he literally bottle 'beauty' and 'love'? Does he know 'how' to love? Can he love himself for what he has done, let alone find a woman to truly love him? This fictional piece asks us to suspend disbelief in several instances; and I accept. But the story goes from interesting, to sickly, to barely believable. This is NOT your conventional serial killer thriller; and it is not for the faint of heart. If you can accept that and take the movie for what it is, you will appreciate 'Perfume' as much as I do. But ultimately, I have mixed feelings. The jarring closure both frustrates & consumes me (long after the credits have rolled). In the end, I believe this to be the film's intent.
Born in poverty, accepted as an orphan, & sold into slavery, Jean-Baptiste knows nothing of parents, proper upbringing, or education; all he knows is his masterful smell of all indigent things. He wants to connect on a social level with humans but simply doesn't know how to. He's alone in a world of his own; it's tragic, really. Upon arrival in Paris, Grenouille discovers the intoxicating fragrance of young womanhood. Entranced, he enlists the help of Italian perfumer, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), to hone his deadly perfume-making skills. Baldini realizes his pupils' innate talent for perfume, but fails to realize Grenouille's psychotic plans.
Midway through his eventual killing rampage, Grenouille realizes that the last 'essential' he needs to cap-off the most exotic perfume in the world, comes in the form of Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), daughter of elitist, Antoine Richis (the always intriguing Alan Rickman). After all, what could be more attractive than a perfume holding the true scents of femininity? Grenouille has become reckless about his obsession; he can't seem to stop himself. Does he want to stop? Can Antoine save his daughter in time? Or will Grenouille continue to kill, preserve, & distill his ultimate perfume to unleash upon a world so desperate for love?
I can easily state what there is to appreciate about 'Perfume'. Its vibrant cinematography & art direction is absolutely, disgustingly gorgeous; pun intended. You feel like you are placed in 18th c. France. Whether it's in streets of squalor, or the decadence of Province ... the layers of colors & textures of dirty cobblestone alleys or sumptuous, flower-laden countrysides are breathtakingly beautiful. Tom Tykwer does an amazing job at allowing us to almost smell the world that Grenouille does; sickeningly, it's as if we're placed in his nostrils for most of the movie. It's just amazing how this is captured. And the musical score is absolutely perfect for the film. It is brooding when it needs to be, light in its' rare whimsy, & thoroughly urgent in ominous moments. However, these aspects of the film (as brilliant as they are) kind of steal the thunder from the simple, but increasingly twisted plot.
Ben Whishaw is unnervingly fantastic as Grenouille. The lonely desperation within his sickness keeps this movie's pulse alive. His raw physicality is incredibly scary, yet, we can also sympathize with him. If he is able to create his perfect perfume, what's to come of it? Does he realize what he's done? Can he literally bottle 'beauty' and 'love'? Does he know 'how' to love? Can he love himself for what he has done, let alone find a woman to truly love him? This fictional piece asks us to suspend disbelief in several instances; and I accept. But the story goes from interesting, to sickly, to barely believable. This is NOT your conventional serial killer thriller; and it is not for the faint of heart. If you can accept that and take the movie for what it is, you will appreciate 'Perfume' as much as I do. But ultimately, I have mixed feelings. The jarring closure both frustrates & consumes me (long after the credits have rolled). In the end, I believe this to be the film's intent.