Themes: Serial Killers, Obsessive Quests, Woman In Jeopardy
Main Cast: Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Dustin Hoffman, Karoline Herfurth
Release Year: 2006
Country: DE/FR/ES
Run Time: 147 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
An obsessive French perfumer with a highly developed olfactory sense and an all-consuming drive to capture the essence of love eventually resorts to murder in his unrepentant quest to find the key ingredient for his recipe in director Tom Tykwer's adaptation of author Patrick Suskind's best-selling 1985 novel. Born in a fetid fish market and raised in a dilapidated orphanage, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) toiled his childhood away in a rank tannery run by the thuggish Grimal (Sam Douglas). Subsequently obsessed by smell, Grenouille's keen olfactory sense becomes so finely tuned that it eventually overpowers such human qualities as love and compassion. Though he has indeed discovered the unmistakable scent of a woman, Grenouille finds it impossible to connect with the fairer sex on any sort of meaningful level. Roaming the streets of Paris late one night, Grenouille catches the scent of a young girl selling plums and impulsively strangles her, later sniffing her nude corpse in a twisted attempt to preserve the distinctive scent in his memory. After persuading legendary perfumer Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman) to take him on as an apprentice, Grenouille travels to the town of Grasse in Southern France in order to learn the art of enfleurage at a firm run by the highly respected Mme. Arnulfi (Corinna Harfouch). It is there that Grenouille becomes dangerously drawn to the vestal aroma of the young and beautiful Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), the daughter of widower merchant Antione Richis (Alan Rickman). Soon driven to madness by such a pure scent, the spellbound Grenouille continues to claim the lives of the numerous young girls in a tragic attempt to bottle the impossibly elusive smell of virginal womanhood. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Releasing a costume epic in the thick of Oscar season is a calculated risk -- it can pay big dividends in terms of prestige-by-proximity, but if it doesn't get marketed as an outside-the-box genre buster, it'll just get buried. This was the unfortunate fate of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, which should have also gotten more attention because it came from Tom Tykwer, the writer/director of the enthralling Run Lola Run. Remarkably, Perfume is an equally original work. Simply put, when was the last time you saw a film about the sense of smell? It would seem a cinematic mismatch, but Tykwer uses every narrative gift at his disposal to give a deeply rich and palpable visualization to the olfactory themes. When Dustin Hoffman's perfumer uncorks the divine scent spontaneously conjured by his apprentice, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), his laboratory morphs into a lush digital garden for the time the scent lingers in the air. Perfume is peppered with such inspired methods of communicating smells, both delicious and repugnant, and their potential to overwhelm. As if tackling this overlooked sense weren't enough, Tykwer also may be the first filmmaker to delve into the mysterious art of making perfume. That gets its procedural day in the sun through another set of fascinating sequences. But what may be most impressive about Tykwer's film is that it is so different from anything he's ever made. Run Lola Run showcased one kind of brilliance, but here, Tykwer nearly eschews Lola's jittery aesthetic in favor of a grand period opulence that's languidly paced and deliberate. One wouldn't even know it was the same director but for the rare signature touch. (And it's worth noting, when praising Tykwer, that he and collaborators Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek composed this film's period-appropriate music, just as they composed Lola's techno soundtrack.)
With gorgeous cinematography by Frank Griebe and a trio of art directors working overtime, the alternating grubbiness and glamour of 18th century France pops off the screen, from the fish-strewn marketplaces of Paris to the palatial mansions of Grasse. Some viewers may have a hard time adjusting to Hoffman in a powdered wig, and he does sometimes distract, though his role is relatively minor (as is that of the always good Alan Rickman). But Whishaw makes a profoundly unknowable protagonist -- a loner orphan gifted with a supernatural sense of smell, who uses killing merely as a means of attempting to bottle the perfect scent. Tykwer makes grand gestures in this film, most notably the brilliantly executed climax and its jaw-dropping use of extras. Those who frowned on Perfume may have attacked scenes like this one, which go over the top in adhering to the film's status as a dark fairy tale that knows it couldn't really exist. But anyone who appreciates errors of ambition will surely forgive Tykwer, especially once they get swept up in his spell of smell. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
David Calder - Bishop of Grasse; Simon Chandler - Mayor of Grasse; Sian Thomas - Madame Gaillard; Jessica Schwarz - Natalie; Corinna Harfouch - Madame Arnulfi; Paul Berrondo - Dominique Druot; Timothy Davies - Chenier; Carlos Reig-Plaza; Sam Douglas - Grimal; Harris Gordon - Marquis de Montesquieu; Sara Forestier - Jeanne; Joanna Griffiths - Marianne; Birgit Minichmayr - Grenouille's Mother; Alvaro Roque - Grenouille 5 Years; Franck Lefeuvre - Grenouille 12 Years; Michael Smiley - Porter; Richard Felix - Chief Magistrate; Francesc Albiol - Court Official; Gonzalo Cunill - Guard 1 Dungeon; Roger Salvany - Guard 2 Dungeon; Andres Herrera - Door Guard; Reginald Wilson - Customer Fishmarket; Catherine Boisgontier - Woman Fishmarket; Nuria Casas - Woman 2 Fishmarket; Carlos Gramaje - Police Lieutenant Fishmarket; Walter Cots Wangüemert - Driver; Perry Millward - Marcel; Jan Cortes - Boy Boarding House; Berta Ros - Girl Boarding House; Joan Serrats - Upholsterer; Jaume Montane - Pelissier; Bridget McConnel - Aunt; Duna Jove - Young Woman; Dora Romano - Baldini's Wife; Carolina Vera - Neapolitan Girl; Ramon Pujol - Lucien; Anna Gelman - Albine; Laura Gelman - Françoise; Guillermo Ayesa - Tallien; Anna Diogene - Tallien's Wife; Montserrat Maso - Housekeeper; Toby Harper - Police Lieutenant; Jerome Willis - Councillor; Fermi Reixach - Councillor; Derek Smee - Councillor; Albert Pérez - Councillor; Artur Sala - Gatekeeper; Thomas Lenox - Messenger; Richard Collins-Moore - Innkeeper's Wife; Nico Baixas - Guard Torture Chamber; Enric Arquimbau - Executioner; Oriol Tramvia - Land Priest; Cristina Sola - Woman With Bishop; Laura Vidal Traver - Hangover Girl; Ariadna Cabrol - Beggar Woman; Maia Jenkinson - Beggar Woman; John Hurt - Narrator
Credit
Hucky Hornberger - Art Director, Laia Colet - Art Director, Sebastian Fahr-Brix - Art Director, Michelle Guish - Casting, Beatrice Kruger - Casting, Grace Browning - Casting, Fura Dels Baus - Casting, Jürgen Müller - Casting, Anne Fremiot - Casting, Fura Dels Baus - Choreography, Jürgen Müller - Choreography, Simon Rattle - Conductor, Gigi Oeri - Co-producer, Pierre-Yves Gayraud - Costume Designer, Caroline Veyssiere - Continuity, Sebastian Fahr-Brix - First Assistant Director, Tom Tykwer - Director, Martin Fuhrer - Second Unit Director, Alex Berner - Editor, Samuel Hadida - Executive Producer, Martin Moszkowicz - Executive Producer, Julio Fernández - Executive Producer, Andreas Grosch - Executive Producer, Andreas Schmid - Executive Producer, Manuel Cuotemoc Malle - Executive Producer, Waldemar Pokromski - Hair Styles, Ulrike de la Lama - Hair Styles, Tatjana Gluska - Hair Styles, Estelle Tolstoukine - Hair Styles, Christiane Weber - Hair Styles, Daniel Horowitz - Hair Styles, Ignasi Ruiz - Hair Styles, Nicolai Semjevski - Location Manager, Octavi Martinez - Location Manager, Teresa Gefaell - Line Producer, Silvia Tollmann - Line Producer, Tom Tykwer - Composer (Music Score), Reinhold Heil - Composer (Music Score), Johnny Klimek - Composer (Music Score), Waldemar Pokromski - Makeup, Ulrike de la Lama - Makeup, Tatjana Gluska - Makeup, Estelle Tolstoukine - Makeup, Christiane Weber - Makeup, Daniel Horowitz - Makeup, Susi Rodriguez - Makeup, DDT Efectos Especiales - Makeup Special Effects, Christian Almesberger - Camera Operator, Uli Hanisch - Production Designer, Frank Griebe - Cinematographer, Kerstin Dyroff - Production Manager, Miguel Puertas - Production Manager, Bernd Eichinger - Producer, Martin Moszkowicz - Producer, Daniel Chour - Set Designer, Iñigo Navarro - Set Designer, Alexis Fibla - Set Designer, Deborah Chambers - Set Designer, Die Nefzers - Special Effects, Roland Winke - Sound Mixer, Stefan Busch - Sound/Sound Designer, Frank Kruse - Sound/Sound Designer, Volkhard Buff - Stunts Coordinator, Flora Alvarez - Stunts Coordinator, Uli Nefzer - Special Effects Supervisor, Andrew Birkin - Screenwriter, Bernd Eichinger - Screenwriter, Caroline Thompson - Screenwriter, Tom Tykwer - Screenwriter, Martin Fuhrer - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Dennis Lowe - Visual Effects Supervisor, Christine Rothe - Executive in Charge of Production, Alessandro Fabrizi - Libretto, Helmut Prein - Gaffer, Björn Rehbein - Makeup Supervisor, Tom Tykwer - Music Producer, Reinhold Heil - Music Producer, Johnny Klimek - Music Producer, Tom Tykwer - Musical Performer, Reinhold Heil - Musical Performer, Johnny Klimek - Musical Performer, Berliner Philharmoniker - Musical Performer, Chen Reiss - Musical Performer, State Choir "Latvia" - Musical Performer, Mandy Rahn - Post Production Supervisor, Dorothee Specht - Production Coordinator, Kerstin Biermann - Production Coordinator, Almudena Cormenzana - Production Coordinator, Stefan Isfort - Properties Master, Michael Kranz - Re-Recording Mixer, Matthias Lempert - Re-Recording Mixer, Ulrike Schürhoff - Second Assistant Director, Joerg Widmer - Steadicam Operator, Marcus Pohlus - Steadicam Operator, Donat Schilling - Steadicam Operator, Matthias Lempert - Supervising Sound Editor, Tanja Däberitz - Second Second Assistant Director, UPP Prague - Visual Effects, Arri Film & TV Munich - Visual Effects, Philippe Turlure - Set Decorator, Patrick Suskind - Book Author, Federico Ransenberg - Special Effects Foreman, Jens Schmiedel - Special Effects Foreman, Toska Baltruschat - Visual Effects Editor, Darius Ghanai - Title Design, Björn Rehbein - Department Head Hair, Xavier R. Bernadbeu - Assistant Director
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (German: Das Parfüm – Die Geschichte eines Mörders) is a 2006 film directed by Tom Tykwer, based on the novel Perfume by Patrick Süskind.
Set in 18th century France, the film tells the story of an olfactory genius, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) and his homicidal quest for the perfect scent.
The film begins with the sentencing of Grenouille, a notorious murderer. Between the reading of the sentence and the execution, the story of his life is told in flashback, beginning with his abandonment at birth in a French fish market. Raised in an orphanage, Grenouille grows into a strangely detached boy with a superhuman sense of smell. After growing to maturity as a tanner'sapprentice, he makes his first delivery to Paris, where he revels in the new odors. He focuses on a girl selling plums (Karoline Herfurth) and startles her with his behavior. To prevent her from crying out, he covers the girl's mouth and unintentionally suffocates her. After realising that she is dead, he strips her body naked and smells her until the scent fades. Afterwards, Grenouille becomes haunted by the desire to preserve scents forever.
After making a delivery to a perfume shop, Grenouille amazes the owner, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman), with his ability to create fragrances. He revitalises the perfumer's career with new formulas, demanding only that Baldini teach him how to convert scents into perfume. Baldini explains that all perfumes are harmonies of twelve individual scents, and may contain a theoretical thirteenth scent. He also tells a story about a perfume discovered in an Egyptian tomb that was so perfect that it affected the entire world the moment the bottle was opened. When Grenouille discovers that Baldini's method will not capture all scents, he becomes depressed and leaves to learn superior methods in Grasse. En route to Grasse, Grenouille realises that he has no scent of his own, and is therefore a cipher. He decides that creating the perfect smell will prove his worth.
Grenouille stands alone amongst the orgy his perfume has created.
Grenouille finds work in Grasse assisting with perfumes. After some experimenting, he succeeds in preserving the scent of a woman by cutting her hair, covering her in animal fat, and then distilling the fat. To force the woman to undergo the procedure, he must kill her. Grenouille embarks on a killing spree, murdering beautiful virgins and capturing their scents. He dumps the girls' naked corpses around the city, creating an uproar that threatens to tear the city apart. Nearing completion, Grenouille selects a beautiful young lady, Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), for his thirteenth scent, the lynchpin of his perfect perfume. Laura's wealthy father, Antoine Richis (Alan Rickman) realises the danger and attempts to flee the city with his daughter. Grenouille tracks her scent to a roadside inn and sneaks into her room that night. The next morning, Richis discovers Laura lying dead in her bed.
Soldiers capture Grenouille moments after he finishes preparing his perfume. On the day of his execution, he applies a drop of the perfume to himself. The executioner and the crowd in attendance are overwhelmed by the beauty of the perfume. They declare Grenouille innocent before falling into an orgy. Walking out of Grasse unscathed, Grenouille has enough perfume to rule the world, but has discovered that it will not allow him to love or be loved like a normal person. He returns to the Parisian fish market where he was born and empties his perfume bottle over his head. Overcome by the scent, the nearby crowd devours him. The next morning, one final drop of perfume falls from the open bottle.
Cast
Ben Whishaw as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a young man with a powerful sense of smell. He murders more than a dozen women to create the perfect scent.
Dustin Hoffman as Giuseppe Baldini, a washed-up perfumer who first teaches Grenouille how to capture smells and create perfume.
Rachel Hurd-Wood as Laura Richis, a beautiful lady and the subject of Grenouille's attention. Her scent, he feels, will complete his collection.
Alan Rickman as Antoine Richis, Laura's wealthy and powerful father.
Corinna Harfouch as Madame Arnulfi, a perfumer in Grasse who employs Grenouille at her flower garden.
Karoline Herfurth as The Plum Girl, Grenouille's first victim. Grenouille is forever haunted by the fact that, in killing her, he lost the sublime beauty that was her scent.
As of October 2006, the film had received mixed reviews by critics. Reuters described the movie as "visually lush, fast-moving story", stating as well that the director "has a sure sense of spectacle and, despite its faults, the movie maintains its queasy grip". "You may not savor it", Roger Ebert wrote, "but you will not stop watching it, in horror and fascination".[2]Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 57% "Rotten" rating based on 121 reviews, with the consensus: "A kinetic visual feast with an antihero that's impossible to feel sympathy for".[3]
The film was a financial success, especially in Europe, earning $135 million worldwide. It was deemed unmarketable for American audiences and released in a very limited number of theaters in North America, taking in a modest $2,223,293.[4]
On a side note, the title of the movie was changed from its originally chosen title, "The Perfumer", to the title listed above (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer). This original title can be seen in the movie's trailer before the movie Babel (starring Brad Pitt).[citation needed]
