DVD Review - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Tom Tykwer's adaptation of Patrick Suskind's novel is a most unusual film. It is visually stunning and in many ways a treat for the senses but it is not for the faint of heart.
Jean-Baptiste Grenoville is born if very bad circumstances. His mother has miscarried all of her children and thinks that this one will be the same. But Jean fools her and lives. He is not wanted and given away to people who use him when he is old enough to work. Young Jean discovers that he has a gift for smell. He smells things in a way that nobody else can. When he gets a bit older (and is played by Ben Whishaw) he decides that he wants to learn how to make perfume. He begs a once famous perfumer, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), to teach him.
After learns all the he needs to know Jean is on his way. He finds that he loves the smell of beautiful women and he wants to make perfume out of their scent. In order to this he must kill them. He is particularly enchanted by a young woman named Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood). Her father Richis (Alan Rickman) is very worried about her after it is found that several other women were murdered. He does his best to protect her. And that my friends is all I will tell you about the plot. There is a lesson here and you will be able to figure it out after you see the film and think about it a bit.
The story is very interesting and I enjoyed it for most of the film. However, the last half hour of the film was just a bit too strange. Rickman is wonderful and Hoffman is good in a comic sort of way. John Hurt is terrific as the narrator. But I found Whishaw's performance a bit lacking. I know that his character is devoid of feelings but I think that he overdid it and was too wooden.
Frank Griebe's cinematography is amazing and the music (some of which Tykwer wrote) is outstanding.
So all in all I recommend this film to those of you who want to see something different. Perfume is truly a feast for the eyes and nose.
Jean-Baptiste Grenoville is born if very bad circumstances. His mother has miscarried all of her children and thinks that this one will be the same. But Jean fools her and lives. He is not wanted and given away to people who use him when he is old enough to work. Young Jean discovers that he has a gift for smell. He smells things in a way that nobody else can. When he gets a bit older (and is played by Ben Whishaw) he decides that he wants to learn how to make perfume. He begs a once famous perfumer, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), to teach him.
After learns all the he needs to know Jean is on his way. He finds that he loves the smell of beautiful women and he wants to make perfume out of their scent. In order to this he must kill them. He is particularly enchanted by a young woman named Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood). Her father Richis (Alan Rickman) is very worried about her after it is found that several other women were murdered. He does his best to protect her. And that my friends is all I will tell you about the plot. There is a lesson here and you will be able to figure it out after you see the film and think about it a bit.
The story is very interesting and I enjoyed it for most of the film. However, the last half hour of the film was just a bit too strange. Rickman is wonderful and Hoffman is good in a comic sort of way. John Hurt is terrific as the narrator. But I found Whishaw's performance a bit lacking. I know that his character is devoid of feelings but I think that he overdid it and was too wooden.
Frank Griebe's cinematography is amazing and the music (some of which Tykwer wrote) is outstanding.
So all in all I recommend this film to those of you who want to see something different. Perfume is truly a feast for the eyes and nose.
posted by Film Fanatic | 6:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home