Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born without a body odor, develops a super sense of smell, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. His work takes a morbid turn as he searches for the ultimate scent: human!
The way I found out about this movie has to be the strangest way I've ever found a movie. It must've been fate! I was talking to my friend, Becca, and I joked about how there should be horror-themed perfume. So, I thought I'd Google it. I did a search on the terms "horror" and "perfume" and near the top was the "Perfume" movie. I thought it was a joke so I just had to see it. After a few moments I realized it was for real and then I saw Dustin Hoffman was in it which I just had to see his role.
Going into this I wasn't sure what to expect. I pictured a fancy corporate type of setting. I was really surprised to see that it was actually set in 18th century France. It looks very authentic and beautifully done. This just set it apart from most current horror movies lately.
The story is based on the 1985 literary historical horror novel of the same name (originally published in German as Das Parfum) by German writer Patrick Süskind. It's a very unique story which is refreshing. A man killing women to make perfume out of them, even going as far as to put one victim in a giant vat to soak. How unique is that?!
The movie follows the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, starting out with his birth where his poor mother tossed him out to die at the fish market. He's saved and he's passed from person to person and. growing up, His sense of smell grows to superhuman levels. Later, he comes across an aging perfume expert, played by Dustin Hoffman, and is promptly hired to create perfumes for the wealthy. Then he gets weird and starts out on his quest to create human-scented perfume. He's both sad because no one really loves and he's alone. On the other hand, he becomes an arrogant, emotionless and cold-blooded killer. Follow him on his morbid search for the impossible.
The acting is just superb. Very professionally done. I wasn't sure if he could pull off his role as Giuseppe Baldini, the aging perfume expert. But, he did so well and the make-up so good that it took me five minutes to recognize him! He did great. Ben Whishaw is perfect as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (although he's supposed to be hideous in the book), as the emotionless killer. Alan Rickman (Prof. Snape in Harry Potter) surprised me with his appearance as Richis, one of the members of the French staff. Everyone else is just great as well.
The SFX are done well. Some might be a tiny bit gory but, overall, not very bloody. Quite a bit of female nudity and a giant orgy of nudity near the end make this not a movie for the kids (if the serial killing already didn't tell you that!).
The ending. Well, it has to be one of the weirdest, abrupt changes I ever seen in a movie. While the first 4/5's was totally serious as a horror/thriller/mystery, the last fifth suddenly turned into sort of a Brothers Grimm fairytale. It almost ruined the entire mood of the first part for me. But then it turned again, while still like a bizarre fairytale, it regained a horror note with a perfectly disgusting ending. Still, I'd of preferred it if they had kept the same "realistic" feel as the beginning. I'm not sure how the novel handled the ending but, here, it just came off as a morbid tall tale.
Overall, a very unique tale with a very weird ending. Everything about this film is professionally and beautifully done. Definitely worth a view for all horror, thriller or mystery fans.
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Last night the Limelight Marketplace opened to press and New York City luminaries like the Real Housewives and Richie Rich for a preview prior to this afternoon's official opening. What was once a pulsating, sweaty nightclub is now a clean, glossy mall! Only it's like the scaled-down version of something you might find in suburbia, with stores that feel more like kiosks than full-fledged retail outlets. We went to investigate with hopes of stealing a disco ball and acquiring some free lotions and/or chocolate. And all our dreams came true! However, we can't imagine having a reason to return in the future other than wanting to show friends and out-of-towners how nice the new black-and-white tiles are and remark, "Can you believe that MarieBelle used to be the D.J. booth?"
The Limelight's shell has been preserved, while only the innards have been gutted and transplanted. The resulting space is gorgeous, and last night it looked to almost be complete, save two stray sinks festering in a third-floor stairwell. However, the vendors inside are a strange mix: Havaianas, Hunter boots, MarieBelle chocolates, and Brocade home interiors all mingle. On the ground floor you'll find foodstuffs in the back, mostly sweets like cupcakes, gelato, and brownies, but also some fine olive oil and fatty meats. We spotted Jill Zarin teetering in silver Louboutin heels and a skintight Hervé Léger dress perusing the fine-salt nook and raving over how great they are in pesto, free cone of gelato in hand. Outside is a little patio where you could sit and eat, which is sure to be mobbed on nice days.
MarieBelle occupies the old D.J. booth and has a very fine chandelier hanging over its toffee bricks. In the floors between, you'll also find some cosmetics and jewelry and other knickknacks. But that's exactly the problem with the current mix of vendors: It's mostly knickknacks and gifty things. But Mother's Day only happens once a year. The concept is fantastic and fun and the stores are adorable, but there was nothing in there we'd go out of our way to buy. One puzzling store on the first floor sold stuffed animals, safari hats, incense, and Spanx. On a shelf near the Spanx, we spotted a pink plastic container labeled "FABULOUSNESS." It held what looked like a white washcloth along with "on-the-go wipettes" to clean your vagina and "eau de spot," a product that promises to "make the scent of a woman even better." We spotted nothing similar for penises.
Shortly after that discovery we grabbed our own free gelato, helped ourselves to a miniature disco ball decorating a tray of crudité, and left.
Related: Limelight: The Mini-Mall
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