DVD REVIEW: PERFECT SENSE

Madman Entertainment
Available now on DVD and Blu-ray




In terms of recent apocalypse-themed films -- Melancholia, Conatagion, Take Shelter -- the loss of one's taste buds as the pre-cursor to the end of days hardly seems dire. Unless, of course, you happen to be a chef.

But in David Mackenzie's Perfect Sense, Glaswegian chef Michael's (Ewan McGregor) sudden inability to distinguish between filet mignon and a fillet-o-fish is the least of his, and the world's problems.

Seems a pandemic is sweeping the globe which one by one robs the victims of their senses. First, smell, then taste, hearing, and finally sight; each loss preceded by an inexplicable and involuntary emotional outburst.

The disease has the international medical community baffled, including Susan (Eva Green), a Glasgow-based virologist who lives for her work and whose apartment just happens to neighbour Michael's restaurant.

As the world slowly begins to unravel -- the loss of their senses sees most of the human race also lose its common sense -- these two lonely souls find each other. And let's be honest: if you're going to face the end of the world, what better way to spend it than in the arms, or bed, of either McGregor or Green?

Penned by Kim Fupz Aekeson, Mackenzie's Perfect Sense shares thematic territory with Steven Soderbergh's Contagion -- an inexplicably virulent disease grips the globe and brings forth the best and worst in humanity -- although all involved are working on a considerably lower budget than that star-filled disease flick.

Still, Perfect Sense manages to convey a real sense of fear and loss, and unlike the cool, forensic-like Contagion, it works on an emotional level. McGregor and Green's relationship in the face of impending doom is quite affecting, especially in the film's final moments when silence has fallen and darkness is about to.