I was surprised to find so many comments already on this movie; I didn't realize that it had been widely released in Europe before it was available in the U.S. I just saw a special screening as part of a perfume club event, and I was approaching this from the perspective of someone who had not read the book.
The movie is pretty good, but that's all I can say about it. I felt no attachment to any of the characters, particularly any of the girls - it had no impact on me when they met their fates. I found Grenouille an utterly distasteful character, and not at all well-played; the actor did not seem to put any heart into the role, I didn't think he made it his own...he was wooden the whole time. Dustin Hoffman, on the other hand, was an excellent choice for his role.
"Perfume" is artistically decent. It was refreshing to see a well-crafted movie that was not a huge Hollywood blockbuster - from an American perspective, the film is somewhat edgy, but it was easy to look at...not a single scene was poorly designed.
A word of caution for animal lovers: Avert your eyes during the scene where Grenouille discovers the smells of glass and copper cannot be distilled.
The movie is pretty good, but that's all I can say about it. I felt no attachment to any of the characters, particularly any of the girls - it had no impact on me when they met their fates. I found Grenouille an utterly distasteful character, and not at all well-played; the actor did not seem to put any heart into the role, I didn't think he made it his own...he was wooden the whole time. Dustin Hoffman, on the other hand, was an excellent choice for his role.
"Perfume" is artistically decent. It was refreshing to see a well-crafted movie that was not a huge Hollywood blockbuster - from an American perspective, the film is somewhat edgy, but it was easy to look at...not a single scene was poorly designed.
A word of caution for animal lovers: Avert your eyes during the scene where Grenouille discovers the smells of glass and copper cannot be distilled.