I'll say it off the bat- I haven't read the book of Perfume by Patrick Suskind. But I have heard that the film is, ironic considering most directors' claims that it was unfilmable, quite faithful to the source. I don't doubt it, as it has a literary quality all about it. From the John Hurt narration (and even when it's not necessary or adding only bits to the psychology of the characters, it's good to have Hurt doing it), to the fast-paced storytelling, to the detail likely expressed in the locations and settings, it feels novelistic even when it's at it's worst (which is, regrettably, the last twenty minutes, as Truffaut said is the most important section of a picture). The initial story itself, the first half of it, does spell some entertainment to come. An orphan grows up into a slave, but has somehow had since birth the incredible gift of smell, to smell everything (yes, even in smelly old France), and is tempted more than ever after accidentally killing a woman one night and smelling her from head to toe. The idea of catching smell, scents of people, drives him bonkers as he later learns of perfume from a master (Dustin Hoffman, one of the bright spots acting-wise) that there have to be a set number of ingredients- and that special something to put it over the top.
And over the top it does become! But not before Tom (Run Lola Run) Twyker, cinematographer Frank Griebe (also Run Lola Run), production designer Uli Hanisch, and (surprisingly, considering his past work was with Paul W Anderson) editor Alexander Berner create the look of the film as something worth watching for. In fact, for the latter, it sometimes is really absorbing the way the images move forward, at a clip that is a little reminiscent of Thelma Schoonmaker (and, perhaps through that, Scorsese to a very small point). If looking squarely on the technical grounds, Perfume is one of the best produced out of Europe in 2006. Yet however much Twyker and his crew- save for the music which is a befuddling mix of Popol Vuh and orchestrations for a Disney channel movie- go to lengths to make this feel real and gritty and dark, it's hard to obscure how there is, in a way, a silliness to the conceit of the character. On the one hand it is compelling to see him in his early stages, his first victim, his 'training' (in quotes as he doesn't need it exactly, just a little guidance).
On the other hand, and a little more ironic considering the draw of the suspense and horror of the murders, when he starts killing it's not quite as compelling. I know there's a level of disbelief to be had, and this goes without saying that every time Jean Grenouille leaves someone (orphan caretaker, slave owner, Hoffman's character) that person dies. And even up until the last twenty minutes I could take that level of disbelief, and it's still a good movie. But when it comes to the climax- and Grenouille's "demise" (from a point of view may depend on how much you take it as Christian allegory, or devil-allegory, who knows)- it falls apart for me. It may not for some, as it's own pretentiousness might be part of the appeal- frankly there's a touch of the Passion of the Christ in the mix there as far as slow-motion melodrama goes- and some might hate it to no end. It's a flawed conclusion, though mostly cause of what has been set up before, while sometimes in the ridiculous (so many murdered, none seen in the act, eh why not), feels and comes off realistic in that gritty 18th century set-up that can only come out of the poor and rich sections of French life. By the time we get the messianic image towards the end, I felt like turning off the movie- and luckily it ended.
So Perfume ends up being neither a debacle nor a full-blown artistic success. I was glad to see it, and it's fairly well acted (watch Alan Rickman as he speaks in a very low, sinister tone to Grenouille as he is dunked in the barrel of water), even to a point by the hollow-eyed Ben Whishaw. But it just, well...does not smell quite right at the end.
And over the top it does become! But not before Tom (Run Lola Run) Twyker, cinematographer Frank Griebe (also Run Lola Run), production designer Uli Hanisch, and (surprisingly, considering his past work was with Paul W Anderson) editor Alexander Berner create the look of the film as something worth watching for. In fact, for the latter, it sometimes is really absorbing the way the images move forward, at a clip that is a little reminiscent of Thelma Schoonmaker (and, perhaps through that, Scorsese to a very small point). If looking squarely on the technical grounds, Perfume is one of the best produced out of Europe in 2006. Yet however much Twyker and his crew- save for the music which is a befuddling mix of Popol Vuh and orchestrations for a Disney channel movie- go to lengths to make this feel real and gritty and dark, it's hard to obscure how there is, in a way, a silliness to the conceit of the character. On the one hand it is compelling to see him in his early stages, his first victim, his 'training' (in quotes as he doesn't need it exactly, just a little guidance).
On the other hand, and a little more ironic considering the draw of the suspense and horror of the murders, when he starts killing it's not quite as compelling. I know there's a level of disbelief to be had, and this goes without saying that every time Jean Grenouille leaves someone (orphan caretaker, slave owner, Hoffman's character) that person dies. And even up until the last twenty minutes I could take that level of disbelief, and it's still a good movie. But when it comes to the climax- and Grenouille's "demise" (from a point of view may depend on how much you take it as Christian allegory, or devil-allegory, who knows)- it falls apart for me. It may not for some, as it's own pretentiousness might be part of the appeal- frankly there's a touch of the Passion of the Christ in the mix there as far as slow-motion melodrama goes- and some might hate it to no end. It's a flawed conclusion, though mostly cause of what has been set up before, while sometimes in the ridiculous (so many murdered, none seen in the act, eh why not), feels and comes off realistic in that gritty 18th century set-up that can only come out of the poor and rich sections of French life. By the time we get the messianic image towards the end, I felt like turning off the movie- and luckily it ended.
So Perfume ends up being neither a debacle nor a full-blown artistic success. I was glad to see it, and it's fairly well acted (watch Alan Rickman as he speaks in a very low, sinister tone to Grenouille as he is dunked in the barrel of water), even to a point by the hollow-eyed Ben Whishaw. But it just, well...does not smell quite right at the end.