***SPOILER ALERT***
Do not continue if you don't want to know too much.
You must be wondering what sort of epidemic exists in Perfect Sense. The world’s population loses their senses one sense at a time. They are unable to determine what’s causing it and therefore can’t find a way to avoid or cure it. It’s an interesting concept that takes the idea of Blindness to a whole new level. First people lose their sense of smell, which causes people to panic. After a while life gets back to normal and people learn to live without their sense of smell. The next sense to disappear is the sense of taste. The same cycle takes place in which people first panic, but then human nature takes over and people get back into their normal routines. As the film progresses the senses that are lost are more important, hearing and sight. Of course the population’s reactions become more severe as well.
Another interesting thing is that before each sense is lost there is an accelerated reaction that occurs. Before people lose their sense of smell they become overwhelmed with sadness. Before taste they have an uncontrollable hunger that causes them to eat anything and everything that is near them. Rage and anger occur before losing sound. Finally, a feeling of warmth and light overcomes those about to lose sight.
As I said earlier, Perfect Sense is more of a love story. The two main characters are Michael (Ewan McGregor) and Susan (Eva Green), who are a chef and epidemiologist respectively. Susan lives in an apartment overlooking the back alley of the restaurant Michael works in. They cross paths a couple of times and end up connecting. As the senses are disappearing, they grow closer to each other. As smell and taste disappeared, they focused on enjoying life together (as well as their remaining senses). As the loss of sound approached, rage caused Michael and Susan to fall apart. They do manage to find themselves just as they are losing their sight. In the closing moments of the film, there is darkness and silence. All they have is each other’s embrace, feeling heartbeats, tears and the warm air as each other exhales.
Perfect Sense can definitely stir up some emotions in the viewer. It is a beautiful yet sad film. There is a sort of satisfaction in knowing the two main characters have each other in the end as they presumably wait for death. Perfect Sense is one of those films that makes you reflect afterwards, thinking about what you just witnessed and how you would cope if it actually happened.