Variety
The seductive, sensory prose of Patrick Suskind's bestseller, "Perfume," reaches the screen with loads of visual panache but only intermittent magic...
Full review
Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer
Once again, a film based on a supposedly 'unfilmable' novel.
Bavarian writer Patrick Suskind wrote 'Perfume' in 1985, but refused to sell the rights for 15 years, certain that his book's main theme, smell, could not work in a visual medium. At various stages, Tim Burton, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott have been tipped to direct. This one, however, is being helmed by Tom Tykwer, who made the stylish 'Run, Lola, Run'.
It's all about a young man called Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in 1744 with an acute sense of smell. He becomes obsessed with capturing scent after accidentally killing a girl with an irresistible aroma. It's a stylish sensory feast with thespians Alan Rickman and Dustin Hoffman.
Bavarian writer Patrick Suskind wrote 'Perfume' in 1985, but refused to sell the rights for 15 years, certain that his book's main theme, smell, could not work in a visual medium. At various stages, Tim Burton, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott have been tipped to direct. This one, however, is being helmed by Tom Tykwer, who made the stylish 'Run, Lola, Run'.
It's all about a young man called Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in 1744 with an acute sense of smell. He becomes obsessed with capturing scent after accidentally killing a girl with an irresistible aroma. It's a stylish sensory feast with thespians Alan Rickman and Dustin Hoffman.
Less
2006Rating: R16, contains nudity & content that may disturb147 minsGermany, France, Spain
CrimeDramaThriller
- Director:
- Tom Tykwer ('Run, Lola, Run')
- Writer:
- Andrew BirkinBernd EichingerTom Tykwer
- Cast:
- Ben WhishawAlan RickmanRachel Hurd-WoodDustin Hoffman
Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer | Reviews
59%129 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
The New York Times
Try as it might to be refined and provocative, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer never rises above the pedestrian creepiness of its conceit...
Full review
San Francisco Chronicle
This isn't pleasant to watch. Neither is it amusing, intellectually engaging, whimsically fascinating, coldly satirical or painfully poignant, though at any given moment in this erratic film director Tom Tykwer might be trying for one of these conflicting tones...
Full review
New Zealand Herald
Banal and obvious adpatation entirely misses the point of a subtle and brilliant bestseller...
Full review
Newshub
Relative unknown Brit Ben Whishaw is a revelation, capturing completely the silent disturbing and entrancing Jean-Baptiste...
Full review
Empire Magazine
The odd conclusion renders it somewhat oblique, but Perfume is a feast for the senses...
Full review
Christchurch Press
Perfume's allure is really because it hits all the right notes for both audiences who watch films with their head, and those who lead with their heart...
Full review