An 18th-century perfumer's dark, atmospheric quest for the ultimate scent becomes a surreal, gritty obsession.
Darkly comic and suspenseful. A late-night trip at a measured pace. Emotionally it is heavy.
Streaming on Kanopy (free) and Hoopla (free).
For an R, this one goes further: strong sex and nudity. Beyond that, strong violence and some strong language.
How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.
It leaves the ending open to interpretation.
The Green Mile (1999)Melancholy · full attention · strong violence · graphic goreOn death row, a gentle giant's miraculous gift brings both healing and profound melancholy to a gritty prison.
The Godfather (1972)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA crime family saga unfolds with measured, gritty suspense, building an epic and melancholy atmosphere.
The Godfather Part II (1974)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA crime family's epic saga unfolds with melancholy, as a son expands the empire his father built.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)Dry wit · gritty · full attention · strong violenceA grieving mother's darkly comedic quest for justice ignites a small-town war with measured, gritty suspense.
Fargo (2014)Dark satire · gritty · late-night trip · brutal violenceMidwestern lives unravel into darkly comedic violence as absurd choices echo through a chilling, measured atmosphere.
Trainspotting (1996)Dark satire · gritty · late-night trip · strong violenceA group of Edinburgh heroin addicts stumbles through darkly comic, surreal misadventures with bleak, pulpy consequences.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)Gritty · comfort watch · strong violence · emotionally devastatingAn innocent man's integrity and unquenchable hope shine through decades of gritty prison life.
Peaky Blinders (2013)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA gangster family in 1919 Birmingham rises through the criminal underworld with gritty, suspenseful ambition.Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is on our Drama on Kanopy, Crime on Kanopy, Fantasy on Kanopy, Hoopla and Drama on Hoopla lists.
Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.
Lists with the same feel: Weird and surreal and Late night.
Say the mood. Five picks with where they stream, right here.
Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.
