''Perfect Sense'' is a 2011

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

romantic drama film directed by David Mackenzie, written by

Kim Fupz Aakeson Kim Fupz Aakeson (born 12 September 1958, Copenhagen) is a Danish writer, illustrator and screenwriter. Selected filmography References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aakeson, Kim Fupz 1958 births 20th-century Danish male w ...

and starring

Eva Green Eva Gaëlle Green (, ; born ) is a French actress and model. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she began her career in theatre before making her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's '' The Dreamers'' (2003). She achieved international reco ...

and

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

. In the film, a chef (McGregor) and a scientist (Green) fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions.

Plot

An epidemic begins to spread throughout the globe, causing humankind to lose their sensory perceptions one by one. The story focuses on two people: Susan, one of a team of

epidemiologists Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and eviden ...

who are trying to find the causes of the disease, and Michael, a chef who works at a busy restaurant located next to Susan's flat. The two meet and get to know each other as the epidemic progresses, a relationship which soon turns to love. Humans begin to lose their senses one at a time. Each loss is preceded by an outburst of an intense feeling or urge. First, people begin suffering uncontrollable bouts of

crying Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secr ...

and this is soon followed by the loss of their

sense of smell The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, ...

. An outbreak of irrational panic and anxiety, closely followed by a bout of frenzied gluttony, precedes the loss of the sense of taste. The film depicts people trying to adapt to each loss and trying to carry on living as best they can, rediscovering their remaining senses as they do so. Michael and his co-workers do their best to cook food for people who cannot smell nor taste. The loss of hearing comes next and is accompanied by an outbreak of extreme anger and rage. Michael experiences it first and is verbally abusive at Susan who flees in fear, losing her own hearing shortly afterwards. Despite her knowledge that it was the disease that caused the outburst, Susan cannot face Michael again. People struggle to adjust and to go on living. One day, every person on Earth suddenly experiences a feeling of joyful euphoria. Susan realizes she both forgives and still loves Michael and rushes to his job. The two find each other and embrace just as they, and the rest of the world, become blind.

Cast

as Michael *

as Susan *

Connie Nielsen Connie Inge-Lise Nielsen (born 3 July 1965) is a Danish actress. She has starred as Lucilla in the film ''Gladiator'' (2000) and as Hippolyta in the DC Extended Universe, and in the films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017), '' Justice League'' (2017), '' ...

as Jenny, Susan's sister *

Stephen Dillane Stephen John Dillane (; born 27 March 1957) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Leonard Woolf in the 2002 film '' The Hours'', Stannis Baratheon in ''Game of Thrones'', and Thomas Jefferson in the 2008 HBO miniseries ''John Ad ...

as Stephen, Susan's boss *

Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born i ...

as James, Michael's workmate * Denis Lawson as Michael's boss *

Alastair Mackenzie Alastair Mackenzie (born 8 February 1970) is a Scottish actor from Perth. Early life He was born in Trinafour, near Perth, and educated at Westbourne House School and Glenalmond College in Perthshire. Mackenzie left home at the age of 1 ...

as Susan's workmate * Kathryn Engels as Narrator

Production

The film had the working title ''The Last Word'', and

's script was originally set in Copenhagen, Denmark, the capital of his homeland, but was transferred to Glasgow, Scotland, after director David Mackenzie's homeland. Scenes were shot in various locations around

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Reception

Reviews for ''Perfect Sense'' have been mixed.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

has the film ranked at 57%. Tirdad Derakhshani of the ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'' wrote in his review, "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."; and Stephen Holden of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' defined it as "a solemn sci-fi parable set in present-day Glasgow, whose deepening sense of foreboding is sustained by the enigmatic, pseudo-biblical reflections of an unseen narrator." Mark Holcomb of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' said the film "beautifully captures the ache and counterintuitive thrill of 'the days as we know them, the world as we imagine the world' fading away by degrees—just don't be surprised if you find yourself longing for a contagion-spawned zombie bloodbath to counter the shambling lyricism." Writing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', Alison Willmore gave a more positive appraisal: "Each deprivation is preceded by a flurry of emotion that leads to the film's most vivid sequences". The film opened at 59 cinemas on its domestic release grossing £21,675 for the weekend 7–9 October 2011.

References

External links

* * * * * {{David Mackenzie 2011 films 2011 romantic drama films 2011 science fiction films 2010s English-language films 2010s science fiction drama films Scottish films British romantic drama films British science fiction drama films Danish romantic drama films Danish science fiction drama films English-language Danish films English-language German films English-language Scottish films English-language Irish films English-language Swedish films Films about chefs Films about disability Films about infectious diseases Films directed by David Mackenzie (director) Films scored by Max Richter Films set in restaurants Films shot in Glasgow Films shot in Kenya Films shot in Mexico City Irish romantic drama films Irish science fiction drama films Swedish romantic drama films Swedish science fiction drama films Zentropa films 2010s British films 2010s Swedish films