Perfect Sense

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Connie Nielsen

Synopsis:

A Chef and a Scientist find love as an apocalyptic event occurs that robs people of their 5 senses, one by one.

It’s true that I’d watch Eva Green in just about anything. I proved that by watching Jordan Scott’s Cracks (had to be careful not to miss out the “s”) and the mediocre TV show, Camelot. So, when faced with a love story set during an apocalyptic event, it was a no-brainer.

Ewan MacGregor plays Michael who, it’s established early, isn’t particularly tender and understanding when to comes to women. This soon changes when he has a chance encounter with the gorgeous and quirky epidemiologist Susan, played by Eva Green.

She’s unlike any woman he’s met before and she intrigues him enough to fight to get a date with her. Fed up with being alone and constantly going out with “arseholes”, Susan takes a chance on Michael and finds him different and charming. For most people, this would be the start of something and the inevitable process of man meets woman, except there’s an event happening where people around the world are losing their senses. It’s not as straightforward as that, either; an emotional event precedes the loss. The first sense lost is smell, preceded by an intensely sad emotion; people break down in the streets and face a period of horrendous despair.

For some reason (as in plot device) Susan is asked to research into the cause, in her lab in Glasgow. The shocking aspect for her team is that it isn’t a virus. Without the basic structure of a virus to look at, the scientific team does not know anything about it other than the symptoms they are also experiencing. Susan begins to lose her logical way of thinking just as Michael is losing his ability to relate to his work which is based upon the sense of smell and taste.

Perfect Sense does not follow the usual formulaic apocalyptic storyline. Whilst we get glimpses of how the world is ever increasingly descending into chaos, it also reflects on man’s ability to adapt and try and live as normal a life as possible. We get glimpses of the good in people (a lone person tidying up after a series of riots) and the innocent ways in which people live out their lives without the reliance on something we take for granted (sharing a meal even though it doesn’t taste of anything). For the most part of the movie, there is still hope.

It highlights truths in human relationships that we’d probably not want to focus on and questions that are best left buried within us, but exist nonetheless, such as “Did I settle for the right person?”; “Will I find the one?”; “What if I find the one that is right for me, only to lose them?”. Perfect Sense highlights that acute emotional pain that can only come from confronting loss. This is magnified when Michael is searching for Susan near the end and has to face the prospect of a future where he will never see the love of his life again.

Both Michael and Susan are fragile people in their own way, searching for someone to turn them around. Through these characters, we watch the human race deal with a pandemic. Both have their faults, they are very well written characters and any lack of depth would ruin the film. Both leads play their parts with an intuitive and natural air. Green, in particular, has not got an easy role to play but she rises to the challenge effortlessly. The last time I saw Ewan MacGregor it was in the horrible Star Wars prequels (not his fault, the scripts were lazy and rubbish) so I was glad to see him in a work of depth again.

Of note is his reaction when presented by exactly the type of narcissistic behaviour that we have witnessed him display at the beginning of the movie, by Susan. His cocksure attitude and confident veneer slips away.

The supporting cast is excellent too. Perfect Sense would also fall flat if a weak link presented itself; thankfully, it doesn’t. Connie Nielsen plays Green’s long suffering sister (and the narrator) who is patiently waiting for her to find the right guy. MacGregor’s real life Uncle, Dennis Lawson, plays the restaurant owner. Ewen Bremner plays Michael’s fellow worker in his usual spirited style.

Giles Nuttgens cinematography is clear and expressive. We see contrasting views of Glasgow throughout the movie; from the dingy alley-like side road where the restaurant and Susan’s flat is, to the city shots blighted by social unrest. There is an intriguing use of what looks like a type of miniature camera. It jars as we witness Michael cycling and I wasn’t sure exactly what effect the choice was supposed to have other than emphasise feelings of reality.

Summary:

It sounds quite grim but MacKenzie ensures that the movie never goes too far into melodrama and over-sentimentality. On the whole I think that the correct balance is struck. MacKenzie does not seem to make any specific points; he leaves that to the audience. Perfect Sense can be as didactic as you want it to be. It suggests that we take a little time to look around us and take note of the beauty around us that all our senses embrace. The obvious one is taste. With our sense of taste taken away, food might as well be “fat and flour” as Denis Lawson said. We are led to fully appreciate the beauty in life. That’s the gift of the movie if you wish to take that away with you.

7 out of 10 (Wayfarer)

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