Perfect Sense

January 23rd, 2012

Imagine not being able to smell your morning coffee, taste that biscuit your munching, or even read this review – a travesty! For David Mackenzie, imagining the human reaction to such an apocalyptic loss became the centerpiece of his most recent film, Perfect Sense. Set in the heart of Glasgow he spins a tale of romance between Ewan McGregor and Eva Green amongst a global apocalyptic event – a mysterious illness sweeping the earth and gradually stripping away the senses of every person who inhabits it.

The concept of a romance mixed with the end of the world is nothing new, but to Perfect Sense’s credit it does present a more refined and thought provoking take on this hollywood cliché. The key reason for this rests on the very real and human romance that plays out between Mcgregor and Green, whose strong performances are able to present a relationship that is born out of a human desire to seek comfort with others in a time of need.

Although the mystery illness will eventually affect everyone, Perfect Sense focusses on how it directly affects the lives of these two individuals. McGregor is a chef, a profession that is built on human senses. For Green, her work as an epidemiologist has her working within close proximity of the illness in an attempt to discover it’s origin and, more importantly, to find a cure. Interestingly the film avoids Green’s profession, practically surrendering itself to the disease early on and choosing to analyse instead how chef McGregor adapts to peoples loss of sensation.

This move makes perfect sense with the films message being loud and clear – humans adapt to survive. For McGregor, people losing their sense of taste and smell does not bring an end to their culinary experience and shortly after this epiphany the film presents a montage of people enjoying food that snaps, crackles and pops all without a box of Rice Crispies in sight.

I should at this point explain that people lose their senses one at a time in order of smell, taste, hearing and eventually sight. Before losing a sense the individual experiences a moment of heightened feelings in the form of sadness, anger and my particular favourite hunger, simply for the two minute sequence which ensues; an ode to the zombie apocalypse – a nice touch Mr Mackenzie.

Perfect sense does present itself very well with glorious imagery and an evocative musical score throughout. Mackenzie truly exemplifies his skill with a camera, capturing Glasgow in a light that screams of desolation whilst simultaneously producing scenes of heart warming emotion between his two lovers. Frustratingly, Mackenzie doesn’t always get the balance quite right, which leaves the film bordering on pretentious, with some scenes being particularly cringe worthy.

The contrast of a budding romance and the swath of emotions and feelings that come with it, alongside the sudden loss of sensation and humanity makes for an interesting parallel which evokes a mixture of emotions as the film plays out. With the plethora of apocalypse films out there Mackenzie had to think outside the box and as a result Perfect Sense is somewhat pretentious, but with a stirring romance at its heart and a plot that will play on your mind for days after, you can forgive it for not being perfect.

Words > Sam Lawrence
Competition

OK, it’s January and it’s all a bit dismal but at the end of this month Perfect Sense is released on DVD. If Ewan McGregor and Eva Green can manage to find love as the world is crashing down around them then we can certainly get through January.

The DVD is released on 30th January 2012 and to celebrate we have a cinema poster signed by Ewan McGregor plus a copy of Perfect Sense on DVD, courtesy of our friends at Arrow.

To stand a chance of winning simply tell us the name of David Mackenzie’s previous film, also starring Ewan McGregor (joined by Tilda Swinton), about love and death aboard a river barge.

a) Young Adam
b) Old Joy
c) Middle-aged Pete

Answers and flattery to: dean@rhythmcircus.co.uk

Tags: Arrow Films, Competition, Connie Nielson, David Mackenzie, Denis Lawson, Eva Green, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Perfect Sense, Romance, Sci-Fi, Stephen Dillane