Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer (Single Disc Edition) [DVD] [2006]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on Patrick Suskind's novel about a serial killer who hunts victims with his superhuman sense of smell, iPerfume: Story of a Murderer/i is a florid, grisly portrayal of this historical drama set in 18th century France. Jean-Baptiste Grunuis (Ben Whishaw) is born under his mother's table at the fish market, onto a pile of muddy fish guts, establishing from the beginning his repulsion for putrid scents. A childhood of neglect and, later, a job at a tannery, encourage Jean-Baptiste to develop his olfactory sense rather than his verbal skills, so that an opportunity to prove his worth to Parisian perfumist, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), results in his immediate hire into a promising new career. His successes in perfume mixing are negated by a blinding obsession for capturing the sublime beauty of human soul, which in his twisted logic requires the killing of young women to reduce their body fats to essential oils for the ultimate, cannibalized eau de parfum. An omniscient narrator tells the story with much sympathy for Jean-Baptiste's perverted psychology, making it, often, too obvious that his need for love justifies his murderous desire to capture misguided sexual attractions in a vile. Continuous close-ups of Grunius's nose, countered by close-ups of the places and objects he smells, enhance the viewer's understanding of his sensitivity. Repeated comparisons are made between the killer and dogs who aid, then expose his sick experimentation. The settings are fascinating, especially Baldini's perfumery and some later scenes in enflorage factories outside Provence. Whishaw's and Hoffman's performances are both grand. But iPerfume/i unnecessarily spells out Jean-Baptiste's psychosis, squelching any chance for metaphor. This is unfortunate, considering the story's paradoxical nature. As this crude hunter navigates his way through a world of utmost delicacy, one craves ambiguity rather than explanation. i--Trinie Dalton/i

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-05-22 rating:
Scent of brilliance (urgh...cliché...)
This film is one based on a truly superb book of the same title by Patrick Suskind; a book that has recently been considered as one of the books that everyone must read before they die by Waterstones. Whilst this is certainly true, a review a book is not what I am here for! br / br /Perfume: The story of a murderer is very well directed. A film of a story once considered "unfilmable", Tom Twyker, the director has evidently spent a great amount of time to make a film about scent work when naturally the audience is isolated from it. The film portrays the squalor of 18th Century France with absolute grittiness that really drives the story forward and this is pulled further by the superb casting. Characters really act their roles to the extent that you could only imagine possible and the relatively unknown members of the cast don't bring down the more recognisable (Dustin Hoffman / Alan Rickman) and possibly even outshine them in this incredible film. br / br /There are some noticeable issues with the film though that are not necessarily its fault. The film is clearly a book adaptation, as there are moments that leave the audience particularly puzzled. With scenes of a sexual nature holding great significance in the book, occasionally in the film it would seem they are included merely for gratuitousness. Its not a major issue with the film, for as a an accompaniment to the novel it definately holds it ground. It strays little from the original concept and some areas are possibly even tackled better. The clever use of narration even means that much of the literary brilliance of the book is retained in this adaptation, making it a definite recommendation from me.

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