Tom Tykwer is one of my favourite directors, but I was never particularly excited about seeing his adaptation of Patrick Süskind’s novel. I enjoyed the book but found it rather sterile – I constantly felt held at arm’s length by its fairly intrusive narration. It turns out the problems I had with the book are also prevalent in the film.
Tykwer’s film certainly does justice to the book. Its epic scope and attention to detail make it one of the most impressive-looking period films of the last decade. The cinematography, editing and sound design are incredible – this is a remarkably realised eighteenth century. The acting is pretty good too, the only problematic performance coming from Dustin Hoffman (not to mention his patchy accent), who feels rather bland in a role a character actor would have relished. Ben Whishaw is perfect as Grenouille, and Alan Rickman is similarly well cast.
As I said, the major flaw with this film was evident in the book itself – it’s hard to know with whom we’re supposed to sympathise. Are we supposed to pity Grenouille as a victim of circumstance, or are we supposed to fear him? Should we rally behind the townsfolk baying for his blood or be horrified? As a ‘what if?’ (ie: traditional science fiction) story it’s rather interesting but lacks heart, despite Tykwer and co-writers Bernd Eichinger and Andrew Birkin’s injection of some last minute emotive sequences.