Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Review

Tom Tykwer's adaptation of Patrick Suskind's novel "Perfume" is a wonderfully quirky, yet equally disturbing tale of lust, scent and death in 18th Century France. The film follows the life of Jean Baptist Grenouille (Ben Winshaw) a talented perfumer, who discovers that the only way to create the perfect scent is to kill.

Essentially a road movie, "Perfume" charts the orphan Grenouille right from his birth in the murky and wretched Parisian fish market and then focuses on his talent as a perfumer and his apprenticeship under the once successful Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman). It is Grenouille's unique sense of scent that not only allows him to excel in his profession, but also fuels his obsession to create the perfect scent. This compulsive desire forces him to kill a beautiful red haired woman as the smell she exuberates is Grenouille's idea of perfection. However frustrated that he cannot recreate the smell, Grenouille leaves Paris and sets on a journey of self discovery until he soon learns that the secret to containing this scent is to continue to kill.

With fantastic performances from Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman and debutant Ben Whishaw, the film serves as a surprisingly strong realisation of a thoroughly descriptive and hard-to-adapt novel. However while the film is an entertaining adaptation it certainly feels rather drawn out. There have been longer novels that have been adapted into shorter films, but at 147 minutes "Perfume" does feel laborious at times. Similarly, the novel which was full of detailed descriptions of the vast array of differing smells in France too often relies on a narrator, albeit the typically astute John Hurt, to drive the story. Ultimately though, the character of Jean Baptist Grenouille, a killer you want to despise but largely warm to, is rich enough to keep audiences engaged and the overall performances, plus Tykwer's skilful direction allows "Perfume" to stand as an enjoyable piece of cinema.