| By Matt Bombeck What undertaking could be more daunting for a filmmaker than to make a costly period movie based on an internationally acclaimed novel whose protagonist is not only an amoral serial killer but experiences the world through scent? If that wasn't intimidating enough, Stanley Kubrick attempted to adapt the book but ultimately rejected it because he believed it to be unfilmable. Based on the best-selling novel by Patrick Süskind, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is set in 18th century France. It's the story of a young man, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (played by English actor Ben Whishaw), who discovers he has a remarkable gift: a superior sense of smell. When he becomes an apprentice to a prominent perfumer, his gift leads to an obsession to capture the scent of young, beautiful women. There is only one problem: To distill their aromatic essence, he must first murder them, one by one. Published in 1985, the novel sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and is still beloved in Europe, especially in Süskind's native Germany. When the author, a notorious recluse, resisted offers to relinquish the film rights, it became something of a myth that the book would never become a movie. After years of relentless pursuit, German producer Bernd Eichinger finally convinced Süskind to sell the rights. Reportedly, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott and Tim Burton were all at one time linked to the project. But Eichinger sought out German director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), who shared Eichinger's vision of the film and may be, as some believe, heir to Kubrick's throne. The challenges of adapting novels for the screen - especially good ones - are well known. Books rely on the reader's imagination; films are experiential. Fiction can digress; screenplays must be brutally economical. Perfume's biggest hurdle, perhaps, was getting an audience to sympathize with an enigmatic serial killer whose oddness somehow managed to be accessible to readers. Tykwer admits that task wasn't easy. "It has a character that is unlike any protagonist in any other story. He's a murderer and yet he's the only one an audience can possibly root for." Tykwer saw something much deeper in the character. "When I read the novel, I realized that I could absolutely connect with Grenouille, even though he's a murderer. There was something about this character that was absolutely universal and archetypical: his desire to be recognized, to be somebody that other people see as being exceptional." There was also the cinematic challenge of capturing scent, the book's central motif, something that Süskind describes on the page in extraordinarily rich detail. Tykwer, an expressively visual filmmaker, loved the challenge. Film audiences are accustomed to period films portraying handsome aristocratic images, but Tykwer wanted Süskind's vision of mid-18th century Paris, one that captured the filth and, yes, the smells of a reeking metropolis. "The book was really violent. You're being thrown into the dirt and mud of the streets with the common people in this smelly, nightmarish world. " Tykwer admits that adapting a book deeply loved by so many people was intimidating. "When you really have enjoyed a novel and you know the film is coming out, what you want it to be is not just a transcription of the pages. You want to see a subjective vision of it but, at the same time, you want it to be truthful to the novel." The film is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on December 27. It also stars Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman and Rachel Hurd-Wood. No doubt there will be inevitable comparisons to Süskind's novel. Tykwer's advice to bibliophiles who never believe a film can live up to a book? See the movie. |
