Knight at the Movies Archives
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Tom Tykwer's spectacular, unique spectacle is a movie experience par excellence while Dench and Blanchett turn in tour de forces
Why do I feel so passionate, so protective about Perfume: The Story of a Murderer? I honestly can’t trace all the reasons but
I can tell you that I reacted to it on a visceral, extremely deep level, a rare event for one who watches movies for a living. For me, it
was one of those great movie experiences that rarely happen and continue to keep me enthralled with the medium itself. Since I
saw the film a few months back it’s the one movie I’ve been advising friends to see unencumbered by the trailer which reveals too
much (as most of them do) and unsullied by reviews like this one (which shall go on to praise the film to the skies) or others that
have already tossed it in the cinematic trash bin. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer may not have been the best movie of 2006 but for
me, it was hands down the best movie EXPERIENCE of 2006. Will you agree? That’s going to have to be your call – I’m way, way off
in the hopelessly impartial section still enthralled by what I saw and felt.
The film, based on the 1985 European publishing sensation by Patrick Süskind, has been brought to the screen by German based
director-writer-composer Tom Tykwer, best known in the States for Run Lola Run. Tykwer has for me solved the book’s Catch-22: how
to film a story that focuses on a man whose sense of smell is so strong he can pick up the scent of a woman (and everything else)
from miles away? In Tykwer’s hands, the answer is to ramp up the assault on the other senses – the film is ravishingly
photographed, the sets meticulously detailed, and the accompanying music score (which Tykwer co-composed) is hauntingly
beautiful.
Set in France of the 1800s, the story follows the infamous life and career of the fictional Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (played by British
theatre actor Ben Whishaw), who is orphaned soon after being born into extreme poverty in the slums. Growing up, the quiet,
watchful Grenouille’s extraordinary sense of smell aids in his ability to survive and eventually leads him to the streets of Paris, a
heaven on Earth for one with such a large olfactory cavity. All this is graphically presented in either nauseating or delightful detail
(Tykwer’s cinematographer Frank Griebe and set crew are also working on all cylinders). By chance on his first night in the odorous
mecca, Grenouille (whose story is relayed in a delicious narration by John Hurt) encounters the sweet smell of love itself and it
exudes from a pretty street vendor who sells fruit. Circumstances cause Grenouille to lose the girl’s scent and in desperation, he
apprentices at first with a master perfume maker (Dustin Hoffman) who has lost his ability to come up with something diverting for
the nobility.
As the story proceeds, the ingenious Grenouille travels to the heart of perfume making country where he attempts, in an extremely
unorthodox manner, to recreate the smell of his Beloved. This is where the “murderer” tag comes into the film which goes into cat
and mouse territory for awhile (Alan Rickman playing a nobleman trying to protect his titian haired daughter is a central character in
this section). The spectacular climax of the film comes when Grenouille’s horrifying methods are revealed to the public. This
sequence, over the top and sensual, startled and delighted me, but its sheer audacity is going to make many audience members, I
admit, react in the opposite fashion. Tykwer’s music score (on which he collaborated with Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek) which
has superbly followed the film’s mood reaches its climax at this moment as well (the score is also this year’s best).
Critical and public reaction to the frankly unique Perfume: The Story of a Murderer may not find it ending up with the lingering sweet
smell of success but for film sensualists, Tom Tykwer’s movie is one time you should take time to smell the cinematic flowers.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Feature films didn’t offer a lot to the ladies this year (things were a bit better on DVD with the current Loving Annabelle a dyke must
see). One big exception is Notes on a Scandal, an acting tour de force that stars Judi Dench as the sneering, superior Barbara, a
teacher and closet lesbian at a private prep school and Cate Blanchett as Sheba, the new teacher and object of her latest fantasy
romance. “Her complexion is the color of a white peach” Barbara lovingly writes in her precious journal but as the complicated story
reveals (and as Dench thrillingly portrays) this narcissist isn’t about to let anything get in the way of her potential Great Romance –
not even the disinterest of her intended or the discovery of Sheba's affair with one of her underaged students. Dench's portrayal of
the bossy, imperious Barbara and her obsession for Sehba and her machinations to keep it going is thrilling. It's a perfect match up
of actress and part. This is the kind of juicy, acidic role that on the stage would be classed as Legendary. It’s not much below that
on screen. The film, one of my Top Ten GLBT films for 2006, opened in Chicago at the end of the year and is sure to garner acting
nominations for its leads.
I can tell you that I reacted to it on a visceral, extremely deep level, a rare event for one who watches movies for a living. For me, it
was one of those great movie experiences that rarely happen and continue to keep me enthralled with the medium itself. Since I
saw the film a few months back it’s the one movie I’ve been advising friends to see unencumbered by the trailer which reveals too
much (as most of them do) and unsullied by reviews like this one (which shall go on to praise the film to the skies) or others that
have already tossed it in the cinematic trash bin. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer may not have been the best movie of 2006 but for
me, it was hands down the best movie EXPERIENCE of 2006. Will you agree? That’s going to have to be your call – I’m way, way off
in the hopelessly impartial section still enthralled by what I saw and felt.
The film, based on the 1985 European publishing sensation by Patrick Süskind, has been brought to the screen by German based
director-writer-composer Tom Tykwer, best known in the States for Run Lola Run. Tykwer has for me solved the book’s Catch-22: how
to film a story that focuses on a man whose sense of smell is so strong he can pick up the scent of a woman (and everything else)
from miles away? In Tykwer’s hands, the answer is to ramp up the assault on the other senses – the film is ravishingly
photographed, the sets meticulously detailed, and the accompanying music score (which Tykwer co-composed) is hauntingly
beautiful.
Set in France of the 1800s, the story follows the infamous life and career of the fictional Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (played by British
theatre actor Ben Whishaw), who is orphaned soon after being born into extreme poverty in the slums. Growing up, the quiet,
watchful Grenouille’s extraordinary sense of smell aids in his ability to survive and eventually leads him to the streets of Paris, a
heaven on Earth for one with such a large olfactory cavity. All this is graphically presented in either nauseating or delightful detail
(Tykwer’s cinematographer Frank Griebe and set crew are also working on all cylinders). By chance on his first night in the odorous
mecca, Grenouille (whose story is relayed in a delicious narration by John Hurt) encounters the sweet smell of love itself and it
exudes from a pretty street vendor who sells fruit. Circumstances cause Grenouille to lose the girl’s scent and in desperation, he
apprentices at first with a master perfume maker (Dustin Hoffman) who has lost his ability to come up with something diverting for
the nobility.
As the story proceeds, the ingenious Grenouille travels to the heart of perfume making country where he attempts, in an extremely
unorthodox manner, to recreate the smell of his Beloved. This is where the “murderer” tag comes into the film which goes into cat
and mouse territory for awhile (Alan Rickman playing a nobleman trying to protect his titian haired daughter is a central character in
this section). The spectacular climax of the film comes when Grenouille’s horrifying methods are revealed to the public. This
sequence, over the top and sensual, startled and delighted me, but its sheer audacity is going to make many audience members, I
admit, react in the opposite fashion. Tykwer’s music score (on which he collaborated with Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek) which
has superbly followed the film’s mood reaches its climax at this moment as well (the score is also this year’s best).
Critical and public reaction to the frankly unique Perfume: The Story of a Murderer may not find it ending up with the lingering sweet
smell of success but for film sensualists, Tom Tykwer’s movie is one time you should take time to smell the cinematic flowers.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Feature films didn’t offer a lot to the ladies this year (things were a bit better on DVD with the current Loving Annabelle a dyke must
see). One big exception is Notes on a Scandal, an acting tour de force that stars Judi Dench as the sneering, superior Barbara, a
teacher and closet lesbian at a private prep school and Cate Blanchett as Sheba, the new teacher and object of her latest fantasy
romance. “Her complexion is the color of a white peach” Barbara lovingly writes in her precious journal but as the complicated story
reveals (and as Dench thrillingly portrays) this narcissist isn’t about to let anything get in the way of her potential Great Romance –
not even the disinterest of her intended or the discovery of Sheba's affair with one of her underaged students. Dench's portrayal of
the bossy, imperious Barbara and her obsession for Sehba and her machinations to keep it going is thrilling. It's a perfect match up
of actress and part. This is the kind of juicy, acidic role that on the stage would be classed as Legendary. It’s not much below that
on screen. The film, one of my Top Ten GLBT films for 2006, opened in Chicago at the end of the year and is sure to garner acting
nominations for its leads.
The Sweet Smell of Intrigue:
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer-Notes on a Scandal
1-3-07 Windy City Times Knight at the Movies Column
By Richard Knight, Jr.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer-Notes on a Scandal
1-3-07 Windy City Times Knight at the Movies Column
By Richard Knight, Jr.
