Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Name: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: December 29, 2006
Duration: 147 min
Rating: 56
Cast: Ben Whishaw

2006

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 186 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 186 Ratings

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Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer

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Movie Details & Credits

DreamWorks Distribution | Release Date: December 29, 2006 | R

Starring: Ben Whishaw

Summary: Based on Patrick Suskind's best-selling novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is set in Paris and revolves around an eccentric 18th century murderer with an extraordinary sense of smell.

Director: Tom Tykwer

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 147 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

This is a dark, dark, dark film, focused on an obsession so complete and lonely it shuts out all other human experience. You may not savor it, but you will not stop watching it, in horror and fascination. Read full review

Marc Mohan

Whishaw's oddly charismatic performance makes the despicable Grenouille into an almost sympathetic antihero. The rather astonishing finale will likely have audiences either howling in derision or ardently dissecting afterward. And it must have given the bluenoses at the MPAA fits. Read full review

Premiere Ethan Alter

Perfume is sure to annoy as many moviegoers as it entertains, but at least even the naysayers would find it difficult to argue that film is nothing if not a departure from the ordinary. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

The film, though admirably ambitious, is resolutely earthbound, mired in ick and slime and never more wooden than in the delirious climax. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

Perfume is ultimately an unmistakable failure, but there's a strange majesty to its epic overreaching. It can be faulted for many things, but not for lacking the courage of its convictions. Read full review

Desson Thomson

It's simultaneously arty, arcane and nasty. Read full review

Michael Sragow

Perfume offers eau de crud. Read full review

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User Reviews

Jean-PaulP.

Dec 24, 2006

Visually gorgeous, brilliant direction.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Waldemar76

Jan 2, 2021

Пожалуй, лучший фильм, что я видел. Идеально передает дух Франции того времени (во всех смыслах). Экранизация лучше книги.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JochenD.

Jul 15, 2009

One of the best films ever made. Great direction and cinemathography, magnificent decors, great performances, great music, ... Tom Tykwer did what Stanley Kubrick found impossible: he adapted Suskind's wonderful novel to a fantastic movie. An outstanding masterpiece.

3 of 3 users found this helpful

John

Mar 1, 2007

I think Roger Ebert has the right idea about this film. It is haunting. Grenouille is seeking to immortalize the essence of a woman through their scent. As such, his quest is almost more important than the females he must snuff to reach his goal. We almost admire the final scene in which he I think Roger Ebert has the right idea about this film. It is haunting. Grenouille is seeking to immortalize the essence of a woman through their scent. As such, his quest is almost more important than the females he must snuff to reach his goal. We almost admire the final scene in which he may now die because he has driven everyone into a sense of euphoria. I suppose this is where the tale bridges from somewhat real into the stuff of urban legends. However weird the ending, his quest is both evil and purely idealistic. His victims are captured forever in his tiny bottle.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MichaelE.

Feb 19, 2007

Near-brilliant. A much finer adaptation of the book than I had ever expected. If the investigation sequence toward the end had been trimmed down (I think that part is ten pages in the book) and had Dustin Hoffman picked an accent and stuck with it, it might have been my favorite movie of Near-brilliant. A much finer adaptation of the book than I had ever expected. If the investigation sequence toward the end had been trimmed down (I think that part is ten pages in the book) and had Dustin Hoffman picked an accent and stuck with it, it might have been my favorite movie of the year. Not that there aren't other problems, but the film carries a sense of LIFE about it that no other film this year quite has. It's a fantasy that's real. I suspect that he and the other stars were cast because Tykwer liked their noses, but Whishaw is perfect as Grenouille -- he's supposed to be totally empty, a non-entity, someone who would never be noticed on the street, and he does all these things while still managing to hold the attention of the viewer. I suspect that in order to really get this film, one must have felt as though he or she was invisible at some point: Grenouille is an invisible man who manages to force himself to be noticed. And the conclusion is great; very appropriate. It may take some thinking to come to this conclusion, but at the end Grenouille, for a few shining minutes, Grenouille is a power for (almost) good.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

thatsmyrainbow

May 26, 2012

I didnt like this movie at all. It's really sadist and incredibly annoying to watch. I watched it a month ago and I still can't believe what I've seen. The actors are amazing and the pressure that makes me feel its weird but I dont know, I just dont feel good about it.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

NikkiI.

Dec 20, 2007

One of the dumbest movies I have ever seen that tries to be so much more. I must admit that the first hour or so is good, at best, but the ending was so completely absurd and ridiculous I had a hard time just trying to get through it. Its disappointing, as I was told this was a relatively One of the dumbest movies I have ever seen that tries to be so much more. I must admit that the first hour or so is good, at best, but the ending was so completely absurd and ridiculous I had a hard time just trying to get through it. Its disappointing, as I was told this was a relatively good movie... but it was garbage. Absolute garbage.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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81	#81 Most Discussed Movie of 2006
15	#15 Most Shared Movie of 2006