Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

I hate perfume. It gives me a headache and makes my eyes water. So I'm thankful that I only had to imagine the aromas in Perfume, rather than actually experience them ala William Castle's Smell-o-Vision… the visuals are pretty pungent, scentless though they may be! Writer-director Tom Tykwer conjures up a veritable bouquet for the eyes within the first minute of film and the bombardment doesn't let up till the final frame fades.

I've only seen two Tykwer films before: Run Lola Run and The Princess & the Warrior. The first was a hit and the latter was a miss for me, so I was more than a little curious to how Perfume would fare. Based on a 20+-year-old bestselling novel by Patrick Süskind (which, for the record, I have not read), Perfume is a story of murder and obsession set in 18th-century France.

While the quirky tale is ripe for Lola-like innovation, Tykwer plays it (mostly) straight. The movie tells the life story the nearly mute but acutely scent-centric Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) from the moment of his filthy birth on the dirt floor beside a fishmonger's cart, to his cruel upbringing, to his perfumer apprenticeship, to his first kill, and beyond.

The flawed man tries time after time to connect on a human level, but everyone he encounters winds up dying (whether by his hand, or not). Grenouille's fixation on creating the world's most formidable fragrance takes a fatal turn when he becomes intent upon bottling the essence of a beautiful young girl (Rachel Hurd-Wood) with hair the color of red roses.

The 2+ hours film mostly follows relative newcomer Whishaw, and he more than ably holds his own in pivotal scenes with powerhouses like Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman. He portrays a truly reprehensible character with no redeeming qualities, yet he imbues  Grenouille with a pitiable, sympathetic air in his yearning to capture the aroma of beauty. John Hurt's narration throughout the film gives the serial killer's story an offbeat, fairytale quality.

Speaking of beauty, Perfume is indeed a visual feast: everything from the blush of a cheek, to the bloom of a rose, to the shine from a drop of blood, is lovingly rendered in perfect detail.

This is a difficult film to describe without spilling too many surprises, so all I can say is: take the time to stop smell the cinematic rose that is Perfume.

= = =