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Tykwer loses his cinematic grip when he tries to blend murder and piety. In his hands, the two don't emulsify.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is another nauseous example of style over content: a toxic tale of serial homicide set in 18th-century France that creeps you out faster than it makes you think.
Hated this movie. Hated it.
[The filmmakers] render a portrait of Paris that both delights and overwhelms the senses. This is a movie where eyes turn into noses, which may run at the many ghastly sights presented.
The movie talks suggestively about smells but can't quite find a way to bring them to life, so [director Tom] Tykwer uses images to rub our noses in as many disgusting things as he can.
The movie is lost. Whishaw succeeds in making the repulsive protagonist thoroughly repulsive, which is probably a testimony to his acting ability. But it doesn't make it anything worth watching.
It's a hard film to like, but it's even harder to dismiss, simply because it's never less than absolutely fascinating.
[Its] off-the-charts screwiness obscures virtually all shortcomings.
The film's DVD extras are limited to a 'making of' featurette and a set of movie trailers.
While you might not come away from a viewing feeling entirely satisfied, you will almost certainly have lots to talk about.
The film scarcely inspires awe, but the image and sound transfer do.
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.
Una estupenda reconstrucción histórica y un atractivo tratamiento visual son los principales valores de esta interesante aunque irregular adaptación.
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.
Agree or disagree, this is a work so bold and provocative and distinctive that it demands to be seen.
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.
Ghastly and horrific, entertaining and mesmerizing, and it smells fantastic.
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