Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Alan Rickman, Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Karoline Herfurth, Rachel Hurd-Wood

"Perfume" is a terrifying story of murder and obsession set in 18th-century France. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille has a unique talent for discerning the scents and smells that swirl around him, which he us...( read more  read more... )es to create the world's finest perfumes. Strangely lacking any scent of his own, he becomes obsessed with capturing the irresistible but elusive aroma of young womanhood. As Grenouille's obsession turns deadly, 12 young girls are found murdered. Panic breaks out as people rush to protect their daughters, while an unrepentant and unrelenting Grenouille still lacks the final ingredient to complete his quest.

Id: 10890486

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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Recent Reviews
  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    One of the creepiest films I?ve ever seen! I got hooked right from the beginning but the end it felt like a bit of a letdown but the acting and Tom Tykwers direction were brilliant! Over all a really good movie but it will make you cringe!!
  • mrpopcorn
    June 9, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "He lived to find beauty. He killed to possess it."

    Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.

    ...( read more)hoolbook">REVIEW
    I really enjoyed this film. Of course it is a challenge to visualise smell, but I think Tom Tykwer did a good job. This is one of the first period pieces that might just present the period realistically - with all its smudged faces, dirty fingernails, rags, the offal in the streets...not even the upper classes were "clean" (to our standards), with their grimy wigs and unwashed clothes, and the film presented this in every shot. Watching Grenouille do what he does feels voyeuristic and somehow wrong, and yet you cannot look away. Not a film for people with a weak stomach!

    A visual bonus for me were the beautiful shots of the Provence -after all the dark colours of the city scenes, the sun and the lavender fields are a feast for the eye, as it must have been a feast for Grenouille's nose.

    The film stays very close to the book and is an visual enrichment for those who have read it, and probably a great surprise for those who haven't.
  • MovieGeek13
    March 19, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    Stanley Kubrick said this book is unfilmable. I agree, because even though there is a lot to admire in this film, the changes made, particulalrly to the personalities of certain characters removes much of the depth and essence of the book.
  • ohagankieran
    January 26, 2009
    ohagankieran
    Criticized for being a motion picture that looks beautiful enough but lacks depth, humanity and even sense it soon becomes apparent when watching "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" that sometimes people deride a movie solely for the sake of doing it. Critics have slated this movi...( read more)e for asking the audience to be sympathetic towards an uncompromising sociopath. And while the moral questioning is all well and good, that angle is lost less than halfway through the movie and not eluded to half as much as some would have you believe. So, even with the supposed questionable morals... does that make "Perfume" a bad film by right? No. This movie remains very very good throughout and is one to seek out.

    Set in eighteenth century France "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" tells the story of sociopathic murderer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. Born in putrid Paris Jean-Baptiste develops a superior olfactory sense, allowing him to immediately register the exact smell of anything and everything he comes across. And when his obsession with smell becomes greater and greater things become equally darker too. When he murders a red-haired woman so that he may smell every part of her body things spiral out of control. Via murder, he begins a quest to capture the very smell of any human being and create out of it the world's ultimate scent.

    Starring in the lead role, and unfortunate not to have been among the nominess for Best Performance By An Actor In a Leading Role, Ben Whishaw stands out not because he plays the focus character but because he does such an incredible job. So with murderer John-Baptiste constantly in the frame throughout the film relies on him doing good work, and he more than abliges. Also featuring is Alan Rickman as Richis, a man intent on protecting his beautiful daughter from the (to them) unknown murderer, fearing that the collection of beautiful women John-Baptiste has killed won't be complete without his daughter. As his daughter Laura, Rachel Hurd-Wood only features briefly but is another in the long list of truly on-form acting talent present.

    Yes, some will surely feel annoyed by the sympathy-seeking style of the film early on. However, its not too intense that the film becomes unbearable and when subsiding allows the film to become truly great for the latter half. You won't feel all that sorry for the sociopath John-Baptiste though, so it seems irrelevant as is.

    Beautiful on the surface, as the vast majority of critics and everyday cinema-goers have all agreed, "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" never becomes difficult to focus on even when given the running time of around 140 minutes. This movie captivated me throughout and held my attention effortlessly. Beyond that beauty is much more, regardless of what some critics might have said. Everyday cinema-goers and movie-viewers alike have seen the deep level of excellence within this movie and provided you don't nitpick for the sake of it you will surely enjoy it also.

    Not so perfect as some would call it. Not so shallow as some would call it. "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" is a captivating, very good motion picture that you could do a whole lot worse than. Definitely one to watch.
  • BiologyBabe2012
    January 9, 2009
    BiologyBabe2012
    We are all familiar with the book 'Das Parfum', by Patrick Süskind. I am sure if you've read it as I have, you'd be disappointed by the amounts the film leaves out, despite it's running time of 140 minutes.

    The scenery is really beautiful, but the long shots and prolonged scenes...( read more) get tiresome towards the end. In my opinion, it would have been better to add some of the things they left out, and cut the lengths of the unnecessarily drawn - out pieces.

    Ben Whishaw is exceptional, even though Grenouille is not the most loquacious man. John Hurt is an excellent narrator, but he does speak very softly sometimes. A minor fault, really. The other actors carry their roles decently, though I didn't notice anybody special.

    Grenouille is the ideal antihero. Strangely attractive (although in the book he is not), enigmatic and not fully understandable. You'll fall in love with him.

    Once again, as is proper, I will separate the movie from the book and give it a 3.5 all on its own.
  • agustina885
    January 1, 2010
    agustina885
    al final se va todo al carajo
  • raiinxfall
    December 31, 2009
    raiinxfall
    For a movie about the olfactory sense, it sure delves more into visuals. This is its ultimate flaw.
  • alejandroequis
    December 31, 2009
    alejandroequis
    Usually I would say "The book was better.." This time both are pretty good.
  • marian22223
    December 28, 2009
    marian22223
    "He lived to find beauty. He killed to possess it"
  • debmm
    December 27, 2009
    debmm
    "There was only one thing the perfume could not do. It could not turn him into a person who could love and be loved like everyone else."

    This film initially held my interest with it's murderous tale of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille's (Ben Whishaw) obsession to capture t...( read more)he scent of beautiful young women. As the story progressed though, some scenes started to border on silly. The worst of all was the ending, which made me wonder why I sat through the entire film for it to be summed up in such a way. LOL

    Perfume was entertaining but nothing more.
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