Perfume: The Story of a Murderer was amazing… until the ending. I will probably never understand how a writer could provide us with an intense thriller for over two hours, only to crap all over our feelings with the finale.
The ending made absolutely no sense, and when the film comes to its conclusion, the final scene makes even less sense. It ruined everything enjoyable about the film and left a sour taste in my mouth. Ultimately, once you’ve seen the ending, there is really no chance to go back and enjoy the movie again.
That in itself is a tragedy since the first two hours was great. The characters were given significant story build-ups, and every sequence flowed into the next. My wife pointed out the one link that connected everyone to our murderer, a small tidbit I may not have noticed without her telling me about it.
Some people are special and unique. Their reputations rely on what they choose to do with those gifts. What makes our main character so tragic is he has a one in a lifetime opportunity to change the world, yet he decides to fall to the dark and takes to murder to solve his life’s most burning desire.
His pursuit of the ultimate smell is what makes the movie so exciting and engaging. It was weird to see Ben Whishaw in such a dark role, but he nailed it. His performance was so good that he could have won some significant awards, but didn’t.
I want to give this movie such a high rating, but the ending ruined so many things I loved about the film as a whole. 6/10
Ten Stars or Less 