Perfect Sense

2012

Perfect Sense

Critics Consensus

Perfect Sense has interesting ideas and charismatic stars, all of which add up to a viewing experience that's frustratingly less than the sum of its intriguing parts.

57%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 63

59%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 5,929

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Movie Info

A hit at Sundance '11 and winner of the Ediburgh Film Festival's prize for Best New British Feature, the amazing genre creation directed by David Mackenzie stars Eva Green and Ewan McGregor as witnesses to the end of the world-- strangers who form a desperate romantic connection in the face of an apocalyptic epidemic of sensory loss. -- (C) IFC
  • Rating:
    R (for language and some sexuality/nudity)
  • Genre:
    Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Romance
  • Directed By:
    David Mackenzie
  • Written By:
    Kim Fupz Aakeson
  • In Theaters:
     limited
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Box Office:
    $1,567
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    IFC Films

Cast

Ewan McGregor
as Michael
Eva Green
as Susan
Stephen Dillane
as Samuel
Ewen Bremner
as James
Connie Nielsen
as Jenny
Denis Lawson
as Boss
James A. Watson Jr.
as Bus Driver
Richard Mack
as Apprentice Chef
Alastair Mackenzie
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Critic Reviews for Perfect Sense

All Critics (63) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (27)

  • Each deprivation is preceded by a flurry of emotion that leads to the film's most vivid sequences.

    February 9, 2012 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

    Alison Willmore

    AV Club
    Top Critic

  • An intriguing apocalyptic romance with a multi-purpose title.

    February 8, 2012 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

    Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic

  • The problem with Perfect Sense is its inability to be effective as either a character-based love story or something larger and more bold.

    February 7, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

    James Berardinelli

    ReelViews
    Top Critic

  • People around the world progressively lose their senses of smell, taste, hearing and, finally, sight. Too bad the filmmakers never seem to have had a sense of humor in the first place.

    February 3, 2012 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

    Lou Lumenick

    New York Post
    Top Critic

  • A solemn sci-fi parable set in present-day Glasgow, whose deepening sense of foreboding is sustained by the enigmatic, pseudo-biblical reflections of an unseen narrator.

    February 2, 2012 | Rating: 3/5

    Stephen Holden

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • It's difficult to impart feelings of profound sadness with an image of Ewan McGregor shoving a stick of butter in his mouth.

    February 2, 2012 | Full Review…

    Andrew Lapin

    NPR
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (63)

Audience Reviews for Perfect Sense

  • Dec 23, 2016
    Nice idea, poorly executed.
    Marcus W Super Reviewer
  • Dec 06, 2015
    A rare cinematic trip to Edinburgh is rewarded in this sci-fi tale of the end times that refeshingly offers a different spin on the proceedings: we lose our senses quite literally, and each, one at a time. Tying this all together is a love story of two wary and cynical career professionals who grudgingly take the plunge initially, but later discover their inherent need to unite. Mainly good stuff.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
  • Oct 06, 2015
    The Perfect Sense feels like it should have been a good movie but winds up not more than mediocre. The lead actress is a terrible fit for the role, her acting felt fake in a few key scenes and in others she seemed more a spoiled princess than an epidemiologist working hard on a cure to save the world. Besides that, the film was alright. The premise was interesting, the shooting was fine, and Ewan MacGregor's performance was believable. I must say, though, if you are going to make a movie about the end of the world and you want it to work, the audience has to have a good amount of sympathy for the characters.
    Robert B Super Reviewer
  • Mar 15, 2015
    Through the eyes of two people about to fall in love, this film tells the story of a mysterious pandemic robbing humans of their sense of smell, and that is just the beginning. Of course the movie refuses to give any explanation for the phenomenon, and still efficiently makes each viewer wonder what it would mean for their own lives. Especially the short montages of reactions from around the world to yet another lost sense are gripping and extremely well done. Of course, the film gets more bleak with each loss, yet glimpses of hope remain in the form of McGregor and Green's love. Their excellent performances carry the film through slower parts too. In the end, things pretty apocalyptic and remind you of the even greater "Children of Men", but here the focus remains on the personal reactions of a couple to the unthinkable, that could very well mean the end of civilization. Pretty well done. A pleasant surprise: Star Wars pilot Wedge as McGregor's boss.
    Jens S Super Reviewer
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