Perfect Sense (5/10)

January 16th, 2012

Life goes on, they say. Nature adapts to change (Creationists may not agree) constantly, learning to adapt to new situations as the need arises. You only need to look at some of the disguises insects and frogs adopt in order to evade their predators to see that. Humans have a tail bone. On a lesser level, people who lose one sense develop their remaining ones to compensate. When a virus sweeps the planet, robbing its inhabitants of their ability to taste or smell, Ewan McGregor’s chef makes his food sound nice. Life goes on. Or not.

The virus, if that is what it is, is unstoppable. For reasons unexplained, it robs us of our senses one at a time. Smell is the first thing to go, which is no big deal unless you’ve left your gas oven on I suppose, and the tell-tale sign that you have this virus is that first you’ll break down into uncontrollable sobbing as you remember every piece of sadness in your life. Get that out of the way and you’re fine, apart from losing the ability to sniff anything.

In Glasgow, pandemicologist (is that the right word?) Susan, played as harshly as ever by Eva Green, is concerned. The tell-tale signs are there. No, silly, not about the virus, but about her new man. She has a history of choosing arseholes, and now here she is with Michael (McGregor), a womanising chef who packs women off in a taxi once he’s finished humping ‘em. This time might be different, though...

The virus spreads and the symptoms change. Losing one’s sense of smell is one thing, but when taste goes out the window too then the world begins to panic. This time, the sensory collapse is preceded by a ravishing hunger, which gives Green, McGregor and co-stars Ewan Bremner (back with his old Trainspotting buddy McGregor) and Denis Lawson ample opportunity to gorge on whatever’s closest to hand. A big jar of mustard? A raw sea fish? A bunch of glads? Doesn’t matter. Get it down yer Gregory Peck, son. The apocalypse is coming, enjoy it while you can.

It’s difficult to know what the intention was with Perfect Sense. Melancholia used our impending annihilation as a metaphor rather than a statement of fact, and so that’s what I looked for here. At first I thought that writer Kim Aakeson was trying to show us the amazing adaptability humans have – when life gives you lemons, etc – but considering the outcome I’m not so sure any more. There’s an ‘all you need is love’ attitude throughout; maybe it’s that. If it is, it’s an unusual delivery style for sure.

The fact that the movie doesn’t work, though, despite some decent originality regarding its premise and delivery, is a bit of a let-down. Scenes that were designed to portray desolation, rage or helplessness were, let’s be honest about it, rather silly. I suppose anything we’ve never encountered before is silly, so your enjoyment will rely upon your suspension of disbelief. Even so, you’ll be hard-pressed to not think of the scene from Airplane as our heroes turn rabid. Where's a shot of a wobbling jelly when you need one?.

Ambitious but fatally flawed, Perfect Sense mars its originality with annoying lectured voiceovers and worldly comparisons that ultimately just irritate. Doomed love has never been so dreary.