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Movies / Upcoming / Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

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57 %
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Reviews Counted: 121

Fresh: 69

Rotten:52

Average Rating: 6.2/10

Consensus: Perfume is what you'd expect from a Tom Twyker-directed movie glamorizing a serial killer: a kinetic visual feast, with a dark antihero that's impossible to feel sympathy for.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for aberrant behavior involving nudity, violence, sexuality, and disturbing images.

Runtime: 2 hrs 27 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 27, 2006 Limited

Box Office: $2,101,584

Synopsis: Author Patrick Suskind enjoys a career shrouded in Salinger-esque mystery. Suskind's best-selling novel PERFUME was coveted by Hollywood for many years, and finally makes it to the screen in this... Author Patrick Suskind enjoys a career shrouded in Salinger-esque mystery. Suskind's best-selling novel PERFUME was coveted by Hollywood for many years, and finally makes it to the screen in this production helmed by Tom Tykwer (RUN LOLA RUN). The film stays remarkably faithful to the author's vision, perfectly summoning up the brooding ominousness of small-town life in 18th-century France, and getting the casting of its central character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), exactly right. Grenouille is an orphan whose sense of smell is extraordinarily acute. He impresses master perfumer Baldini (Dustin Hoffman) enough to work for him, and this sets Grenouille off on an epic quest to find the perfect scent. When he discovers that killing young women and bottling their essence is the only way he can achieve his dream, Grenouille is soon a wanted man with multiple murders to his name. However, when it comes to making one last kill--namely the attractive redhead Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood)--the young perfumer may have met his match in her overprotective father, Richis (Alan Rickman). Tykwer's film is an impressive achievement, not least because the subject of scent and the cinematic medium were always going to make uneasy bedfellows. Couple that with the weight of expectation caused by the millions of readers who have delighted in Suskind's words, and it needed a brave director to take on such a project. Whishaw is a revelation in his first major screen appearance, and Tykwer made a wise choice in bringing in some older heads (Rickman, Hoffman) to support the younger actor. Visually, the film is stunning, and cinematographer Frank Griebe clearly worked hard to bring Suskind and Tykwer's visions to life. But ultimately this is an ensemble piece, with cast and crew all pulling together to create a film that simmers with a hushed menace throughout. [More]

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood

Director: Tom Tykwer

Producer: Bernd Eichinger
Composer: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek
Director: Tom Tykwer
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

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Reviews for Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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It's a hard film to like, but it's even harder to dismiss, simply because it's never less than absolutely fascinating.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
03/25/09
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
02/27/09
Devin Faraci
CHUD

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review

[Its] off-the-charts screwiness obscures virtually all shortcomings.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
11/21/07
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

While you might not come away from a viewing feeling entirely satisfied, you will almost certainly have lots to talk about.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/20/07
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Tykwer squeezes every possible drop of melodramatic beauty out of this material. ...But the gorgeous visuals aren't enough to keep the drama from occasionally degenerating into beautifully produced hokum.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
06/15/07
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Una estupenda reconstrucción histórica y un atractivo tratamiento visual son los principales valores de esta interesante aunque irregular adaptación.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
04/06/07
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

Plenty of high profile movies are about the tormented lives of artists. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer takes it up a notch: It's a legitimate artwork.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
03/15/07
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Agree or disagree, this is a work so bold and provocative and distinctive that it demands to be seen.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/12/07
George Wu
culturevulture.net

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
03/02/07
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In a time when the serial killer subgenre is practically the definition of derivative, Perfume is %u2013 for better or for worse %u2013 a whiff of something uniquely fresh.

Full Review Source: Rue Morgue Magazine | comment Comment
02/12/07
Rod Gudino
Rue Morgue Magazine

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
02/03/07
Melissa Anderson
Time Out New York

Ghastly and horrific, entertaining and mesmerizing, and it smells fantastic.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
01/30/07
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

An intoxicating fable about a man whose phenomenal sense of smell sets him on an irrevocable course, Perfume is a captivating, if overlong adaptation.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/25/07
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

We want to root for him, but he is more of a villain. The dichotomy is savory.

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
01/25/07
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Stanley Kubrick e Martin Scorsese chegaram a declarar que [Perfume], livro do alemão Patrick Süskind, seria "infilmável". Pois até os gênios erram.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
01/25/07
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/20/07
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/16/07
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This movie simply defies credibility.

Full Review Source: Outtakes With Fiore | comment 2 Comments
01/14/07
Fiore Mastracci
Outtakes With Fiore

Tykwer loses his cinematic grip when he tries to blend murder and piety. In his hands, the two don't emulsify.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
01/11/07
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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