Perfume - The Story of a Murderer: Review By Brokaw

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) was born with a unique talent. His olfactory ability is heightened more than anyone else's. He has the ability to smell everything - even rocks. And not only that, he can tell if the rocks are cold or hot, just by their smell. He is driven by smells.

Even with his talent Jean-Baptiste has had a horrible life. His mother almost killed him when he was born, and he was not a popular kid in the orphanage. He was sold and made to work in a tannery. One day he smells the intoxicating scent of a woman and from that time on he is consumed with the solitary purpose of saving scents - the scents of women. All he wants to know is how to preserve this scent that has captivated him and become his purpose in life.

This man has no conscience. He is driven - driven by the quest to save a scent. When he apprentices for a famous perfumer (Dustin Hoffman) he begins to understand how to combine and actually save scents. But he still cannot find a way to save the hypnotizing scent of a woman. His trials leave him frustrated and women dead. But that does not bother him. He forges on, and on, and on. He is consumed by the thought of preserving this intoxicating aroma, no matter what he has to do.

18th Century France is the setting for this unusual - and oftentimes bloody - story. The book was an international best-seller. Some people will find this film visually intriguing, while others might not enjoy watching this man kill one woman after another in order to satisfy his personal obsession with their scent. It's definitely an odd story. After he reaches his goal and has murdered the final woman and preserved her scent, a strange occurrence happens. This scent is not only intoxicating to Jean-Baptiste, but it has a larger impact. To say this is a strange and haunting story is putting it mildly.

The movie is not for everyone however it will have its audience. Those who enjoyed the book will surely be entranced watching the tale unfold on the screen.