Seen: August 21st, 2007
Format: DVD
Rating: 8
I saw the trailers for this a long time ago and stuffed it on my list. I eventually got round to it and enjoyed it a great deal. I had no idea who directed it when I watched it, but at the end of the film discovered it was Tom Tykwer, was also had a hand in the writing.
Duh.
I really enjoy Tykwer's work. While he's not for everyone, his sense of style is undeniable. He's a very visual director, creating large landscapes and small vignette's with equal style.
Perfume, is a beautiful film. It's sets and locales are simply stunning. It is grimy, but appropriately so. It is alternately light and dark, shifting with the mood of the film, but always detailed and full. The shot choices are very impressive and their expressiveness carries the story in certain sections of the film. Watch for angles changes, POV changes and pans that show so effectively what's really happening with the characters.
The story itself is subtle. On the surface it's a thriller, but underneath, it's layered with different themes, not unlike the construction of perfume that Baldini describes. It's a discussion of art and it's related passion. It's a discourse on relationships between people and what those relationships are defined by and built on. It's about coveting and possessing, and it's about the complex relationship of love and sex, it's about compulsion. It's about odor.
It also contains one of the largest and yet tasteful orgies I've seen on the screen.
There's moral ambiguity here as well. Our villain isn't really evil, just compelled. Murder isn't his objective, but becomes a requirement to achieve his ends when other methods fail. It eventually becomes merely efficient. His sacrifices result in wondrous things. His genius is hard to deny. Can we really despise him and his methods? Can we really pretend he's a mystery to us?
Acting is top notch. I'm not a huge Dustin Hoffman fan, finding him inconsistent, but here he shines and shines brightly. Winshaw is simply remarkable. Rickman is a favorite, and plays subtly here, to good effect. The supporting cast does well also, slipping into their roles. The crowd scenes are a bit rough in the acting department, but with this many extras, that's to be expected.
My only quibble with the film is the visually dramatic overstatement of the crowd scenes. This is mostly a dramatic choice, but the degree of reaction seems like hyperbole. It is consistent with previous scenes, but seems a bit excessive. That said, it is well realized and excellently choreographed.
Make no mistake, this is a strange and somewhat disturbing film. It asks a lot of questions and really doesn't offer much in the way of explanation. But it's beautiful, haunting and fresh, and there's a lot to be said for that.
The Good: Sense of moral ambiguity
The Bad: Hyperbole
The Ugly: Enfleurage
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