Perfect Sense

PREVIOUSLY: BEGINNERS

In this 2011 romantic drama, a chef, Michael (Ewan McGregor,) and an epidemiologist, Susan (Eva Green,) fall in love as a mysterious pandemic sweeps the globe. It starts with strange psychological effects, followed swiftly by the loss of smell before the other senses.

I have had to put up with a lot of shit as the effects of Long COVID have torn their way through my body. It’s affected my vision, hearing, and nervous system. There were about three months straight where it just felt like I was constantly on fire. But I am very grateful that of all my symptoms, I never lost my sense of smell or taste. I really think that as my entire mind and body betrayed me during the worst of it, not even being able to enjoy the food I could keep down would have absolutely tipped me over the edge into losing the will to live.

I’m also grateful that this isn’t one of the movies I stumbled upon during my little voyage in rediscovering the joys of cinema during quarantine. I think it would have sent me into a full hysterical meltdown. Even now, some parts of it hit a little too close to home.

The critics at the time were largely lukewarm to negative on this one, and I wonder if any of them would have a different opinion revisiting it after 2020. I think it would have struck me very differently if I’d seen it at the time of release. But after living through a pandemic with some echoes of this fictional one, I found it impossible not to feel at least a little affected by this movie.

There are spoilers from here on out. I do recommend watching this movie. You can always watch it then come back and read the rest if you don’t want to know the ending now.

One complaint a lot of viewers seem to have is that this isn’t a character-driven piece. I don’t think it’s supposed to be. This movie is more about society and the world at large than it is about the individual characters. But I did also come to care about the characters. I thought Ewan’s performance in particular was really heart-wrenching. I was very distraught after the third-act break-up. I was on the verge of tears, heart pounding, the whole thing, hoping they’d have time to reunite and make up before all of their senses were gone.

We know as much as we need to know about the characters. They’ve done bad things. They feel unlovable. They’re lonely. And even as the world repeatedly falls apart and reshapes itself around them, they find each other. And as long as they know the other’s there with them, it’s enough.

This one had some familiar faces from back in the old days. I know I don’t normally point out the many people Ewan has worked with more than once because it’s not that interesting, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it made my brain light up a little this time. Ewen Bremner from Trainspotting (and Black Hawk Down, I guess) is here, and so is Denis Lawson, Ewan’s uncle. I was wrong in thinking Solid Geometry was their only film collaboration, though I am still glad I was able to track that one down. It was just nice, seeing these guys together? This film is also directed by David Mackenzie, who’d previously written and directed Young Adam. I liked this film way more.

The ending felt very abrupt. I do think that if it had gone on any longer in the same pattern, it would have risked getting too repetitive. The cycle managed to keep me on the edge of my seat for as long as it lasted, and I think it’s always better to leave the audience wanting more instead of boring them. Ending it before people lose their final sense of touch was both a surprise and a way to end the movie on the hopeful note it strived for. Because that’s the really beautiful thing about this movie (besides Max Richter’s breathtaking soundtrack:) The thesis is that life goes on. People find new ways to adapt and cope. For as long as people survive, we will find a new normal. A testament to the human spirit, etc., etc. And I’m glad it was sad but not cynical and depressing the way Young Adam was. It’s incredibly bittersweet, and again, must hit different for the people who dragged themselves through Long COVID and still get up and go on with their lives every day.

I was hoping and maybe expecting that the cause of the disease would be discovered, or it would start gradually going away on its own. The fact that the epidemiologists have no idea what’s actually causing the symptoms lends itself to some light sci-fi or magical realism elements, and I kept thinking that would be explored at least a little more. I was waiting for some last-minute War of the Worlds-style twist, where all seems lost but humanity is saved at the eleventh hour by some fluke completely out of our control. But it doesn’t. The world goes silent and dark, and shortly after, the movie ends, with one last reassurance that things will still go on. People might not get the answers they need, but they will still love each other and find ways to communicate their love for as long as they are able. Because that’s what humans do.

Wow. Two emotionally complex, unique, well-made, heartfelt movies back-to-back. I don’t even know if that’s happened before. But oh thank god.

You’re right, Perfect Sense. Life is pain, but the human spirit remains indefatigable. I can do this.

COMING UP NEXT: SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN