Review of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) by Aly A — 12 Jun 2010

Tom Tykwer is a brilliant visual director. This film is absolutely beautiful. Tykwer makes fantastic use of the extreme close-up to simulate scent, something that you wouldn't think possible in a film. The set and costume design is fabulous as well, made to look even better by wonderful cinematography.

Ben Whishaw is absolutely brilliant in a very difficult role. He commands the screen with his presence, even when all that's visible is his nose and completely defines the character, with minimal words. Karoline Herfurth also gives a standout performance, although in a small role. Alan Rickman gives a solid performance as usual, but on occasion appears bored, and Dustin Hoffman is a tad uneven, although he improves as the film goes along. And Rachel Hurd-Wood could have been any pretty actress.

I found the voice over a tad unnecessary, but then I've never liked the idea of non diegetic narrators. The biggest weakness of the film is the ending. It has the feeling of being thrown in to make the film longer than it needs to be and doesn't quite seem to fit. Although the final scene is absolutely perfect and makes up for a not so great previous 20 min.