Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Rating

Director

Tom Tykwer

Screenplay

Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger, Tom Tykwer (Novel: Patrick Süskind)

Length

2h 27m

Starring

Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Dustin Hoffman, Sian Thomas, Corinna Harfouch, Sam Douglas, Birgit Minichmayr, Karoline Herfurth, Carlos Gramaje, David Calder, Jessica Schwarz, Joanna Griffith, Sara Forestier, Timothy Davies, Paul Berrondo, John Hurt, Otto Sander, Jacques Perrin

MPAA Rating

R

Review

Finding the humanity in an individual who commits heinous acts is a challenge that requires a strong screenplay and a terrific central performance. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer has both.

This rather unusual morsel from the audacious Tom Tykwer follows the struggle of young Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) who has a powerful sense of smell and attempts to capture the scent of a young woman from the streets of Paris. His attempts to contain the lingering aroma takes him through the tutelage of a master perfumer (Dustin Hoffman) and subsequently onto a killing spree through the French countryside, hoping to turn his victims into a strange concoction that will enable euphoria in any who smell it.

Director Tykwer co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Birkin and Bernd Eichinger, adapting from a novel by Patrick Süskind. Their story is straightforward but challenging. A figure such as Grenouille has a veneer of respectability, an all-consuming passion, and a lack of moral fiber. Such a character is difficult to convey without making them a despicable, contemptible, or one-dimensional lout. Their script finds subtle ways to present the perfumer’s charm without requiring the audience absolve him of his crimes.

Young actors who can paint such a vivid character for the audience without reducing them to tacky ticks or oozing villainy are few in number. Whishaw is perfectly cast for this role. Both otherworldly in look and familiar in charm, Grenouille stalks his prey with steadfast aim and unrelenting purpose while allowing the viewer to see something within his soul that makes him more human than they might have expected from someone carrying out such awful acts. Whishaw gives one of his best performances in the film, embodying Grenouille with such familiarity and passion that his ultimate goal, as awful as it might be, almost seems rational in the end.

Tykwer’s twisted adaptation of a popular novel makes for a rather idiosyncratic effort. You would never expect this level of depravity to feel so vital and almost acceptable. You’re forced to appreciate the lengths one man will go to in order to capture beauty. The seeds of desire and longing infuse the Grenouille’s actions and conjure up questionable moral sentiments in the audience.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is not a film that will easily satisfy mainstream audiences. His actions are a bit too alarming for viewers to accept as the central focus of a motion picture. However, for quirky film enthusiasts, it’s an interesting treasure that demands at least one viewing.

Review Written

May 20, 2026