Perfume: The Story of a Murderer...bizarre.

Set in 18th-century France, Perfume is a story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (played by Ben Whishaw), left for dead at birth. He manages to survive, residing in an orphanage where he is neglected and ostracized. His only gift in life, the gift of scent, a bizarre hype sensitive nasal passage able to detect & discern all odors and aromas for miles. Sold into servitude while still a boy, he labored in a remote tanning operation. After years of backbreaking work he is permitted to leave the factory and make the long trip into Paris to deliver the finished leather goods.

Upon entering the city limits, his senses explode and he is unwilling to control himself, he wants to possess everything he smells, even if it means murder. Fate would have it that one of his deliveries is to the laboratory of a perfume chemist, played by Dustin Hoffman. During this visit, he replicates the most famous perfume of the time, creates an exquisite new fragrance, and convinces Hoffman to secure him as his apprentice. Jean-Baptiste becomes morbidly obsessed with developing the perfect perfume, implementing methods that are creative, creepy & criminal. NO GO for Perfume, while it is a unique murder mystery, it is neither terrifying, nor suspenseful, just merely unpleasant, and the narration is distracting.
(147 minutes, R)