Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Whishaw) grows up in a squalid 1740s Paris orphanage, only to be sold to a tanner (Douglas). Grenouille's sense of smell is ludicrously overdeveloped, and he eventually he gets a job with--and rekindles the career of--a faltering perfumer (Hoffman), who sends him to the village of Grasse to learn the trade. There, Grenouille continues his main obsession to preserve the scent of beautiful women, a project that turns him into a brutal serial killer. His ultimate goal is the virginal Laure (Hurd-Wood), but her father (Rickman) is fanatically protective.

The filmmakers turn this into an 18th century Taxi Driver, keeping us utterly engaged with this terrifying genius. Hurt's post-modern narration feels both like a sweet bedtime story and an unhinged horror film. We genuinely feel for Grenouille, his mistreatment, his overwhelming gift for scents, his desire to do something that surpasses his humanity. His story develops like a classic myth, as fates conspire against anyone who wrongs him, and despite his callous cruelty, he remains strangely naive and innocent.

Whishaw plays him beautifully, with a sense of yearning with which we easily identify. Grenouille just wants to find his perfect place in the world, and nothing in his background has given him any social skills. The actors around him are very good in much smaller, more simplified roles. Rickman's sheer intensity is terrific, as always, while Herfurth's raw beauty haunts the entire film (and Grenouille).

As a director, Tykwer tells the story sumptuously: we can actually smell it. The film's design is spectacularly vivid, from the gruesome muck of Paris to the lavender hillsides of Grasse to the town square freak-out climax. He keeps the tone intriguingly real--with wit, black humour and a refusal to fall for Hollywood cliches. He also draws heavily on parallels with Frankenstein and The Devils. But it's the focus on the people that makes the film genuinely thrilling.

themes, violence, grisliness, nudity

29.Aug.06