kosmasp (16 May 2013)

It actually does make (insert title here)

I know that a few people were quite touched by this movie (no punintended) and really loved it. The way it plays out might not be yourliking, but there is no perfect end to anything (perfect beingsomething everybody would love). But the actors who are carrying themovie (Eva Green and Ewan McGregor) are really terrific and veryconvincing in their roles.A very understated and slow effort to bring a "What if" scenario tolife. And a very plausible way this might turn out, if events as theyoccur in the movie really were to happen. It's a nice little additionthat Ewans character has a job, that you would think would be one ofthe first to suffer. And I'm sure some people will miss a widerspectrum of things (it does kind of concentrate mostly on our two maincharacters), but this is still a very good movie.

Tim Evans (15 May 2013)

Director David Mackenzie's refreshing take on the disaster plague genre goes for the personal rather than the pandemic...

Todd Jorgenson (13 May 2013)

The most depressing film in recent memory might be this low-budget apocalyptic Irish romance.

moorthyvlr (13 May 2013)

Story of Life

The title of the movie is apt.This movie shows how fragile life is. Howone could live a better life when one starts to savor everythinginstead of taking it for granted.I have given an eight because in lifethere is more losing than winning.The core of this movie isinevitability and life.Truth is not many realize what we have in life until we lose it. Insome cases one does not what one wants. This movie is simple andcomplete in its own way. One can realize a lot by watching this movie.The way in which the narration and on the whole the direction issuperb.

Tirdad Derakhshani (11 May 2013)

The film loses its charm with annoying sequences that have a narrator explain to us "The Meaning of it All" and then tell us "What Really Matters" in life: Love. Love. Love.

Don A. (11 May 2013)

A beautiful film that won't be for everyones' tastes.

I won't spend a lot on the synopsis since most have already explainedit. Simply put, this movie is a story of two people who fall in lovejust as an epidemic spreads across the world ridding people of theirfive senses, one by one.Personally, I loved the film! It is a beautiful film to look at, evenin the most devastating of scenes. I felt multiple emotions throughoutthe film, of which I felt the movie accomplished well. There are scenesthat may make you laugh, scenes that may make you feel tense, scenesthat may make you shed some tears, scenes that may make you feel moreappreciative of what you have in life.Now like I said in the title of this review this film is not foreveryone. Some will find it silly or weird such as the symptoms thatprecede the loss of each sense (an example includes a massiveconsumption of everything in sight, from flowers to lipstick to a wholecan of mustard). Some may also feel the movie is too optimistic in anend-of-the-world-scenario. You will either go with the film or youwon't. I went with it and was thoroughly moved.I've read multiple reviews on this film, and it seems that many peopletake different things away from it. That is what I think makes a greatfilm, when people are left to discuss after the credits roll. This isdefinitely one of my most favorites films in a while, and I wouldn'thesitate to watch it again.

paulfcockburn (10 May 2013)

Perfect Sense? Perfect Mince, more like!

There's always a risk calling your film something like 'Perfect Sense';because, sooner or later, someone's going to point at the Emperor's NewClothes and go: "Perfect mince, more like!" Especially in Glasgow.Let's just say there's nothing perfect about this film; it'sunintentionally funny; it utterly fails to make anything of its centrallocation; it is embarrassingly pretentious; and it is horrendouslyscripted and acted. Except for a few small scenes, Ewan McGregor relieson his goofy smile to earn him audience sympathy, while Eva Green'sone-note, we've-seen-it-all- before performance is just the wrong sideof arrogance, like she feels she's superior to everyone else in thecast. I don't, for one minute, actually believe she's anepidemiologist.The central conceit of the film is, of course, absolutely ridiculous --an inexplicable epidemic is gradually depriving humanity of its senses,starting with smell and taste, then going straight for hearing andsight. (What happened to touch, one wonders?) This isn't, in itself, aproblem, except that any suspension of disbelief is undermined by thefilm choosing to push this medical nonsense to the fore, rather thanhide it behind some believable characterisation, recognisable plot oreven some energetic hand-waving. Instead, we're left with asnail's-paced, condescending, sledge-hammer meditation on how we've alllost touch with each other. Or something like that.The worst thing about this film isn't all the talent and money thatwent into its production; it's the question of what has gone wrong withDavid Mackenzie? Young Adam and Hallam Foe were startling andinnovative cinematic works. Now it would seem he's had a narrativelobotomy. And whoever told him it would a good idea to strap his camerato a bicycle really should be shot. They invented steady cam for areason.

Evangelia Synodinou (10 May 2013)

Strong film

I wouldn't want to say a lot about the story. Perfect Sense is a filmyou have to see, taste, smell, listen. It's not a Contagion - likemovie, it's not a zombie one either, but it could definitely be a post- apocalyptic reality check.We could, but we wouldn't want to imagine something like thathappening, yet again "what if". How strong is the human heart and mindand how could we adapt in such a massive change? This film mightsuggest a hint.Ewan McGregor plays a chef that somehow gets involved with Eva Green, ascientist. Then, all that matters is how these two characters cope withan epidemic that bursts, depriving people their senses.I found this film quite enlightening, the performances intense, themusic appropriate and, last but not least, the photography/ filmingmagnificent. Great work from the director David Mackenzie. The end wasmind blowing, for me.Keep an open mind, look at the big picture and it'll be worth yourtime.

Rockwell_Cronenberg (30 April 2013)

Everything falls flat.

Perfect Sense is another global pandemic movie, coming in on the heelsof Contagion, and tries to set itself apart by presenting the pandemicas a backdrop for a romance between Ewan McGregor and Eva Green. Thespreading illness of unexplained origin is always present but weexperience everything through the worlds of these two characters. Assuch, it obviously requires us to gather a stake in their relationshipor at least them individually, so that we care about them in order tocare about the state of the world.The film overall presents some interesting themes about what can happento mankind when they start to lose their basic senses (as each shutsoff one at a time, for some reason), but the problem for me was that Icouldn't care about these two characters at the front of it all. Theirmeet-cute is...cute, but after that I just couldn't be bothered.Whether it was when the two were together with no chemistry at all, orwhen they were apart with...nothing, there was never anything to giveme a reason to care about these characters. They were just so flat anduninviting and despite the two very talented actors that were cast toportray them, they couldn't seem to make it work at all.So the romance doesn't work for me, which relied me to focus myattention on the pandemic of it all, which was a huge mistake sinceit's barely even a register for the film. It comes with no explanation,which is fine, but it seems like it doesn't even matter that much tothese two characters. Small moments of panic and then everyone goes onwith their daily lives. Which is an interesting idea, but the way it'sexecuted is all so flat, as is the film entire.I like that they presented some originality in their ideas, but some ofthe writing is so strange and when it's put on screen it comes off ashilariously awkward. There's a scene before they lose their sense oftaste that had me in stitches from how strangely done it was. PerfectSense is a pandemic film that knows it's strength doesn't lie in theactual pandemic so it tries to be this great romance, but unfortunatelyfails at that too.

Yvonne Sandoval (30 April 2013)

Beautiful, I was enthralled.

This film was so beautiful and I took away an appreciation for love andfamily and the closeness of my friends and lover. I wept for the twomain characters at the end, not because of how sad it was, but becauseof how beautiful their love was. Sorry my review is not as eloquentwritten as some of the others here, but I felt I owed it to review themovie and give it some form of support and allow the world to know howmuch I appreciated the message as I interpreted it at the end. Thebeautiful French actress I had never heard of, but she was lovely towatch and Ewan came across as so real, as did the entire cast. Glad Istopped to watch this one on Showtime last night, it left me in deepthought and I slept like a kitten afterward.

Boba_Fett1138 (29 April 2013)

Well, it's original!

Well, this is sort of awkward. I did like this movie but I just don'tknow why really. Or perhaps that's simply the whole thing with thismovie. You have to take it- and experience it for what it is and makeup your own mind about it. Basically everybody will get somethingtotally different out of this movie. There is no real way you canmisinterpret things really, since there is not just one simple way youshould be interpreting it all. And who knows, maybe you'll even getsomething totally different out of this movie, each time you'll watchit.The movie is probably now sounding very artistic and extreme to you butin fact it remains a perfectly accessible movie, since it isn't evergetting pretentious about- or with anything. It let things just happenin this movie and it doesn't ever get deep or philosophical about itbut it instead lets you fill in the blanks for yourself. It's a movie with a pleasant pace to it and some good storytelling.It's a drama, romance and science-fiction movie and really, all ofthose elements are greatly present in this movie and are gettingcombined very naturally and effectively. You could perhaps dislike the movie for not making everything clear toyou. I'll admit that I also was often waiting for the movie to start tomake its point clear. It's obviously a movie that wants to carry out amessage to the world but I'm not sure about it yet if it was supposedto be a positive or cynical one. The movie is both things really butoverall I personally still got a real positive vibe from it, despite ofall of the drama and desperation in this movie.It's a bleak and simple shot movie, which I think, suited the movie andits main premise really well. It even gave the movie a sense ofrealism, which is also thanks to its well written characters and actorsplaying them.Ewan McGregor and Eva Green are a convincing young couple and they playwell off each other. I still wish Eva Green would be appearing in moreand different movies than this one. She should have already been a bigstar by now but it looks like she is being very picky about what moviesto appear in and she also doesn't always make the right choices. Ohwell, luckily she by now has 2 big projects coming up, a Tim Burtonmovie and the sequel (or prequel?) to "300", so maybe her career willstill turn out alright after all.But ultimately it really doesn't matter what I, or anyone else, thinksor says about this movie. It's simple really something you have toexperience for yourself and make up your own mind and feelings aboutit, since chances are you'll be getting something totally different outof this movie than I did.7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Zara Miller (29 April 2013)

An intriguing idea for a film that heightens all the senses.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat (22 April 2013)

A deeply spiritual love story that challenges us to be fully alive to the report of our senses and to live in the present moment which will never appear again.

jerote (21 April 2013)

Loved it from beginning to end

This is the first time I give 9/10 to a movie that has no aliens,zombies, special effects, weird creatures, apocalyptic scenarios orgory mess.Of course, with the plot and how the movie evolves, you can figure outthe ending without thinking too much into it. The thing is the way itis portrayed and narrated, the music along with the soothing voicereally grabs you from the beginning. It's fast paced, so you get intothe "action" right away. Makes you think all that way "what wouldhappen if...?". The music is brilliant and calming.This is a movie to watched with your loved one or if you're someone whotakes most of your life for granted. It's an eye opener and a way torealize that in the end, feeling is all that matters. Loved it in everyway.

Steven Patterson (21 April 2013)

Mortality allegory

It's a rare film that stares so unblinkingly at death withoutmythologizing it. Like Bladerunner, Happening, Vanishing on 7th Street,and many others, this film places characters in the grip of impendingdoom, to examine the existential, but utterly practical, problem ofwhat to do as a conscious entity in the face of a foresee-ably finitelifespan. Many films, like Children of Men, which has a similar look,avoid dealing with the inevitability of extinction by focusing onphysical struggle against death personified or objectified as anopponent. Not this one. The epidemic that functions as the plot device does notoffer a pathogen for the characters to battle, just a sequential lossof each of the fives senses, with just enough time between todemonstrate the resilience of the human spirit (or, in a morepessimistic subtext, our capacity for self-deception).I incorrectly predicted that since film is essentially a visual medium,the characters would lose tactile sense (and proprioception) beforeblindness overtook them, thus rendering them entirely voyeuristic,paralleling the audience. That would have delivered an unambiguousmoral lesson - get off your seat and live! But I was wrong. Instead, the characters are left clinging to each other, suggestingthat comforting and cherishing is the only reasonable response to ourcommon plight. The film ends before the loss of the final sense canreduce the characters to Cartesian propositions, blessedly allowing usto reach our own conclusions as to the meaning of it all.

Richard Corliss (20 April 2013)

In staying together as their world evaporates into darkness and silence, they are displaying what anyone in love would recognize as quiet heroism - and perfect sense.

radhrh (16 April 2013)

The Disaster movie returns

The basic plot of the movie has been written about at length in otherreviews so I won't go over it again in any depth here apart from to saythat many other reviews have the voice over provided by the characterSusan. This is an error, Eva Green has a very wonderful English accentwhile the voice over ( by Katy Engels ) is delivered in an obnoxiouslydeadpan sibilant Scots accent which I found increasingly annoying asthe film went on and in my opinion was the only significant black markagainst the film.What I want to write about is the contrast between Perfect Sense andthe similarly themed Contagion which came out in the same year, 2011.While the budget for PS is unlisted, I'm sure it would have beenminuscule compared to the 60 million blockbuster budget StevenSoderbergh had to play around with in Contagion. Obviously Soderberghspent much of his budget on a stellar line up of consistently A listedHollywood talent while PS opted for a couple of star names supported bya rock solid cast of British character actors. Which is the bestapproach? Well I preferred the PS approach, Contagion reminded me a bitof those terrible 70s disaster movies which featured mostly has beenHollywood talent doing cameo scenes. While using such well known actorsundoubtedly has a box office draw to it, there is also a downsideregarding the believability factor. It is often difficult to divorceones consciousness when faced with so many familiar faces and thecharacters become less believable as a result, you watch and think "Oh,they have just taken off the top of Gwyneth Paltrow's head!" By contrast, Ewan McGregor and Eva Green have time to explore theirroles and as such become believable characters. The approach of Contagion is a straight forward "Male" story line,there is a problem ( a fatal virus, something tangible, you can put itin a test tube and look at it under a microscope ) so the story focuseson how to fix the problem, ( Kill the virus, save mankind ) PS has a"Female" approach. There is a problem to be sure, but in this case wenever actually know what the problem is, a virus? Bacteria? Toxin? Noone knows and the movie doesn't spend much time on perusing this lineof inquiry. We see the symptoms, but never know the cause. Instead PSfocuses on how people deal with and come to accommodate the symptomsand on this level is a story of hope, even though we all presume theinevitable will happen in the end. Conversely in Contagion the virus isbeaten in the end, the world is saved, but only this time. This isn't astory of hope, it is a warning of imminent doom.The disaster movie has returned, but instead of burning buildings andcapsizing cruise liners we now have end of the world scenarios based onpandemics killing every human on the planet. My guess is that as 2012approached the interest in apocalyptic stories increased based on theend of the Mayan calendar. Sorry folks, we are all still here….

itamarscomix (16 April 2013)

An unusual and powerful experience

Perfect Sense is born to be a polarizing film; it probably won't beenjoyed by a large portion of the viewers. If you approach it with anopen mind, though, you may find a truly unique cinematic experience,and to me, one of the best films of 2011. As long as you watch it withno preconceptions of what you're about to see.Despite what the poster and plot synopsis may suggest, Perfect Sense isin no way and by no means a romantic or erotic sci-fi thriller. Infact, despite the fact that it's labeled as science fiction, sci-fifans may like it the least, because they (and I include myself in thatgroup) tend to focus on consistency, internal and scientific logic; butif you focus on that here, and try to find plot holes and bad science,you'll miss the point of the film and you won't enjoy it.What Perfect Sense is, is a beautiful analogy about human nature andthe human condition. Much like another wonderful film released in 2011- Lars Von Trier's Melancholia - the science and science fictionelements are just tools used to make that analogy, and there's no pointin focusing on them. Also like Melancholia, Perfect Sense manages to bedark, sad and scary and at the same time uplifting and optimistic, andlingers in the viewer's head for a long time after watching. It's lessapproachable than David Mackenzie's previous works, and it mayfrustrate some viewers, but it's really his masterpiece.

Joe Neumaier (13 April 2013)

Sadly, even aficionados of the Cinema of Extinction may make "Perfect Sense" an Omega choice.

Joshua Rothkopf (12 April 2013)

Filmed with the somber pretentiousness of a Babel, the movie never quite converts its premise into something grander (never mind believable).