64 out of 69 people found the following review helpful:

Compelling viewing, despite the surreal climax

wreeve from , 12th January, 2007

I knew nothing about this film, and hadn't heard of the book. But it draws you in right from the beginning, with a narrated tale about a young orphan born in France 300 years ago who turns out to have an uncanny ability with his nose.

This orphan survives the school of hard knocks and grimy tanneries, but accidentally develops an ability for killing people, and puts it to good use in a quest to preserve 'beauty', namely the scent of beautiful women, forever after they die.

The climax of the film didn't make sense to me at the time, and rather seemed to destroy my faith in the film, tho it is an *unbelievable* bit of film making (with many v brave extras!). However, there is a simple explanation which came to me as soon as I left the cinema.

There are numerous details to salivate (sic) over, not least how compelling a film about smell can be. The atmospheric imagery is wonderful. And seeing a film set in historic France, but in English and cast entirely (?) with familiar faces, is neat. Best of all, and not for the first time, Alan Rickman steals the show as the aristocratic father of the ultimate beauty in the killer's town. He delivers the best line of the film in the way that only he can. Only Dustin Hoffman disappoints.

Read all highest rated reviews

47 out of 51 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

Sickening

A Customer from Birmingham, 9th December, 2007

No amount of period detail and production values can mask the fact that this is a story about a perfume made from dead women, which smells so beautiful that it makes people mistake the murderer for an angel. Creepy, deeply distasteful, and utterly misogynistic.

Read all highest rated reviews

29 out of 36 people found the following review helpful:

Fails to convey the main themes of the book

A Customer from Warwick, England, 5th January, 2007

I have read the book, and was not surprised to hear that Suskind had resisted allowing it to be filmed. The book contains many subtleties that the film loses. Whilst in the book you can concentrate on the exploration of the power of scent, Grenouille's evolution into a murderer, whilst you can almost share his obsession... the film distracts from all of this because it looks like a cheap costume drama. The director had concentrated too hard on the setting, costumes and music rather than conveying the subtleties of the story - for instance, the film never succeeds conveying emotions nor Grenoulle's motivations for making the perfume. The cockney accents and Hoffman as Baldini (a joke, as a reviewer below has rightly said) together with the disastrous (and again comic and contrived rather than dramatic) final mass orgy scenes really ruin the impact of the story. It could have done with a lot more minimalism and less emphasis on the setting, and would have also been a lot more convicing in French (rather than those cockney accents). The film could have worked much better as an arthouse rather than Hollywood picture, and I think the story is timeless enough to have been transferred into any setting, including the present day. Wishart is also tragically miscast. Too pretty and somehow too young. It had a lot of potential, but tragically, none of the best parts of the book come through.

Read all highest rated reviews

28 out of 36 people found the following review helpful:

Ahhh the sweet smell of.....

PaulaWestwood from , 31st December, 2006

A really remarkable film.... it is really atmospheric, and is almost like watching a very very good play, it has that kind of feel. The scenes, the portrayal the dialogue, everything is so beautifully put together it really is a wonderful wonderful picture that will draw you in. Then after 2 hours 15 minutes of that, the whole thing is plunderted by one of the oddest 10 minutes at the end we have ever seen. There were dozens of people leaving the screening saying... ''what on earth was that ending about''. Really though it doesn't necessarily ruin what is a real enveloping movie until then. It just leaves you with a bit of an 'ermmm what am I watching here' feeling. Definately does not put me of recommending this as a must see though. However if anyone can explain the ending please please let us know.

Read all highest rated reviews

Scentless Apprentice

A Customer from London, 3rd March, 2010

After reading the book, I was curious how the writers discription of the sense of smell, so vivid throught the book, would translate into film. The cinama photography is really nice, and the film I feel is succesful in it's translation. Though the atmosphere not as dark as it is in my perception while reading the book. A fine selection of actors, perfomance and look is great. Comforting narration throughout this bizarre tale. The final scenes wonderfully shot. A memorable peice.

Read all recent reviews

Perfume lacks punch

A Customer from London, 15th February, 2010

The trailer for perfume was awesome when watched in the cinema. I had high hopes for this thrilling serial killer murder epic however it tapered off about halfway through and became a very average plodding, period, fantasy drama. The lead Ben Whishaw is an incredible talent and this film is worth watching for him alone but don't expect to be wowed by the film as a whole... Watch Ben in Criminal Justice instead if you have time on your hands.

Read all recent reviews

Entertaining, for a while

A Customer from Lewes, 6th February, 2010

Although visually arresting, with some beautiful sets and imagery the occasional flash of humour and some lovely cinematography the film ultimately was a huge disappointment. Why they had such a ridiculous ending I will never fathom. Until then I could just about put up with the atrocious acting from the main, utterly uninspiring actor, but such a shame to go to all that effort to have it end in the realm of monty python meets shaun of the dead.

Read all recent reviews

Movie for the sick

A Customer from London, 1st February, 2010

This is maybe the worst movie I ever watched. A sick perverse gets fascinated by the scent of a girl (not sure what kind of scent she had on, no character from this movie looked like being too much into washing...) and tries to reproduce it at any price... The content is disgusting, especially for women, and the end very, very disappointing.

Read all recent reviews