Perfect Sense (2011)

Director:

David Mackenzie

Writer:

Kim Fupz Aakeson (written by)

Release Date:

26 August 2011 (Turkey)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Without love there is nothing.

Plot:

A chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions.

Plot Keywords:

Epidemic | Love | Scientist | Chef | Apocalypse

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Eva Green	...	Susan
Lauren Tempany	...	Girl in Bed
Ewan McGregor	...	Michael
Connie Nielsen	...	Jenny
Denis Lawson	...	Boss
Stephen Dillane	...	Stephen Montgomery
Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh	...	Nurse (as Shabana Bakhsh)
Caroline Paterson	...	Woman at Hospital
Malcolm Shields	...	Patient
Judith Anne Christie	...	Waitress
Ewen Bremner	...	James
Richard Mack	...	Apprentice Chef Richard
Alastair Mackenzie	...	Virologist
Anamaria Marinca	...	Street Performer
Juliet Cadzow	...	Wife at Grave
Tam Dean Burn	...	Husband at Grave
Ferosa Mackenzie	...	Jenny's Daughter
Luke Mackenzie	...	Jenny's Son
Gilly Gilchrist	...	Doctor
Barbara Rafferty	...	Woman in Car Park
Siu Hun Li	...	Thai Scientist
Stephen McCole	...	Nice Official
Paul Thomas Hickey	...	Grumpy Official
Liz Strange	...	Deaf Customer
Katy Engels	...	Narrator (voice)
John Mulkeen	...	Chef de Partie
David Monaghan	...	Chef de Partie
Karen Hepburn	...	Pastry Chef
Sean Early	...	Pastry Chef
Oscar Balmaseda Villoslada	...	Waiter
Max Barr	...	Waiter
Amjad Mobarak	...	Waiter
Joni Mackay	...	Waitress
James Watson	...	Crying Bus Driver
Trish Mullin	...	School Teacher
Fiona Danskin	...	Crying Traffic Warden
Duncan Airlie James	...	Kickboxer (as Duncan James)
Lewis Roberts	...	Boy in Sweet Shop
Ian Sexon	...	Crying Man in Stadium
John Conroy	...	Wizard
George Robertson	...	Crying Fishmonger
Iain Lamont	...	Food Frenzy Fishmonger
James Ward	...	Food Frenzy Fishmonger
Paul McCormack	...	Food Frenzy Fishmonger
Robert Hughes	...	Food Frenxy Fishmonger
Ian Workman	...	Food Frenzy Customer
Allan Brown	...	Food Critic
Perry Costello	...	Shopkeeper with Gun
Frank McCabe	...	Emergency Response
Brad Askew	...	Emergency Response
Euan Williamson	...	Homeguard
Paul Lambie	...	Man getting Tattoo
Des Hamilton	...	Jenny's Husband
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adam Smith	...	Virology Technician (uncredited)
Gillean Young	...	Old Folks' Home Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
David Mackenzie

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kim Fupz Aakeson		written by

Produced by
Gillian Berrie	....	producer
Brian Coffey	....	associate producer
Tomas Eskilsson	....	producer
Peter Garde	....	executive producer
Malte Grunert	....	producer
Peter Aalbæk Jensen	....	executive producer (as Peter Allbæk Jensen)
Sisse Graum Jørgensen	....	co-producer
Jamie Laurenson	....	executive producer
Tristan Lynch	....	co-producer (as Tristan Orpen Lynch)
David Mackenzie	....	executive producer
Marianne Moritzen	....	producer: Danish Film Institute
Charlotte Pedersen	....	associate producer: Zentropa
Carole Sheridan	....	executive producer
Akshay Singh	....	line producer: India
Julia Valentine	....	line producer

Original Music by
Max Richter

Cinematography by
Giles Nuttgens		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jake Roberts

Casting by
Shaheen Baig

Production Design by
Tom Sayer

Art Direction by
Andy Thomson

Costume Design by
Trisha Biggar

Makeup Department
Orla Carrol	....	personal hair stylist: Ms. Green (as Oria Carroll)
Marion McCormack	....	hair stylist
Marion McCormack	....	makeup artist
Donald McInnes	....	hair designer
Donald McInnes	....	makeup designer
Lee Melrose	....	makeup trainee: Scottish Screen

Production Management
David Hancock	....	unit manager
Danny Khoudary	....	unit manager
Nina Sagemoen	....	production manager
Emma Zee	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Ash	....	first assistant director: second unit
Avani Batra	....	first assistant director: India
Simon Cox	....	unit director: Kenya
Catherine Dunne	....	second assistant director
Alonso García Borja	....	unit director: Mexico (as Alonso Garcia-Borja Loaeza)
Nick Q. Hughes	....	unit director: Kenya
Colin Kennedy	....	second unit director
Susie Lee	....	third assistant director
Zoe Liang	....	third assistant director
Barrie McCulloch	....	first assistant director
Giles Nuttgens	....	unit director: India
Sandra Quevedo Solis	....	assistant director: Mexico

Art Department
Emiio Alday Ch&aacutelvez	....	art department assistant: Mexico
Alberto Anaya Adalid	....	art department: Mexico
Philip Barratt	....	graphic designer
Ben Barry	....	carpenter
James Baxter	....	carpenter
Liam Collins	....	additional prophand
Paul Curren	....	painter
Sam Curren	....	painter
Derek Gray	....	storyboard artist
Jane Harvie	....	scenic painter
Paul Lambie	....	prop hand
David Macleod	....	props driver
Andrew 'Fred' MacMillan	....	prop hand (as Abdrew MacMillan)
Janice Macrae	....	production buyer
Eona McCallum	....	art department assistant
Andrew McDonald	....	stand-by carpenter/painter
Caroline McFarlane	....	art department trainee
Russell McGovern	....	graphic designer
Aoife McKim	....	petty cash buyer
Alejandro 'Jano' Meija Gaviño	....	art department: Mexico
Matt Mooney	....	prop hand
Andrew Neilson	....	additional prophand
Jim O'Donnell	....	scenic painter
Carly Parris	....	petty cash buyer
Emma Pisano	....	art department assistant
David Pollack	....	carpenter
Kenny Pratt	....	carpenter
David Richmond	....	carpenter
Dan Roberts	....	prop hand
Tony Sheridan	....	property master
James Shovlin	....	painter (as Jimmy Shovlin)
Lynsey Sinnamon	....	scenic painter
Jan Suter Warnholtz	....	art department assistant: Mexico
Caireen Todd	....	graphic designer
John Watt	....	stand-by carpenter/painter
Zoe Wight	....	standby art director
Ella Williams	....	art department trainee: Scottish Screen
Liam Collins	....	dressing props (uncredited)
Jordan R.A. Mills	....	props daily (uncredited)

Sound Department
Omar Aborida	....	sound assistant
Iain Anderson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tony Cook	....	boom operator
Phil Croal	....	sound recordist: second unit
Colin Gregory	....	boom operator
Tom Griffiths	....	assistant sound editor
Kahl Henderson	....	adr recordist
Douglas MacDougall	....	sound designer
Micheal MacKinnon	....	foley supervisor (as Michael Mackinnon)
Barry O'Sullivan	....	production sound mixer
Chris Sinclair	....	dialogue editor
Chris Sinclair	....	sound re-recording mixer
Linda Wylie	....	sound coordinator
Benjamin Lécuyer	....	adr engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Joanna Dewar-Gibb	....	special effects coordinator
Mike Keit	....	special effects supervisor
Keith Nairm	....	special effects technician
Robin Pollok	....	special effects technician
Toby Stewart	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Håkan Blomdahl	....	digital artist
Andreas Hylander	....	visual effects supervisor
Daniel Nielsen	....	digital artist
Sean Wheelan	....	visual effects producer

Camera and Electrical Department
Simon Baker	....	camera operator
Simon Baker	....	steadicam operator
Anna Benbow	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Martin Berry	....	s12k technician
Martin Campbell	....	camera assistant
Eve Carreño	....	second assistant camera: second uint
James Coulter	....	grip: second unit
Luke Coulter	....	second assistant camera
Steve Dall	....	additional electrician
Neil Davidson	....	stills photographer
Arthur Donnelly	....	electrician: second unit
Ewan Epton	....	electrician
Ewan Epton	....	generator operator
Stuart Farmer	....	electrician: second unit
Barnaby Hall	....	special stills
John Hutton	....	electrician
John Hutton	....	generator operator
Iain Johnstone	....	grip
Wayne King	....	gaffer
Jamie Knight	....	best boy
Damian Leitch	....	second assistant camera: second unit
J.J. Lowe	....	assistant grip
Ossie McLean	....	camera operator: second unit
Giles Nuttgens	....	camera operator
Derrick Peters	....	first assistant camera
Stephen Price	....	s12k technician
John Rhymer	....	standby rigger
Andy Sauer	....	grip: daily
Neil Tomlin	....	crane operator

Casting Department
Kahleen Crawford	....	development casting
Danny Jackson	....	development casting assistant
Caroline Stewart	....	development casting assistant
Aisha Walters	....	casting assistant: Shaheen Baig

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Harriet Edmonds	....	standby costume
Fiona King	....	costume standby: daily
Anna Lau	....	costume supervisor
Emily Raemaekers	....	costume trainee
Anna Robbins	....	wardrobe supervisor: daily
Widaad Williams	....	costume assistant: dailies (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Siobhan Boyes	....	post-production coordinator (as Siohán Boyes)
Matt Branton	....	assistant colorist
Giles Burgess	....	first assistant editor
Lorene Dewett	....	first assistant editor
Dave Hughes	....	second colorist
Sarah Hughes	....	negative checker
Adam Inglis	....	colorist
Eimear Jenkinson	....	digital intermediate faciiities coordinator
Rebecca Lloyd	....	first assistant editor
Tim Morris	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Shayne Murphy	....	data conform editor
Gareth Nolan	....	on-line conform assistant
Emmet O'Neill	....	digital intermediate data wrangler
Robbie O'Farrell	....	on-line editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Claudia Ajmone-Marsan	....	musician: violin
Falko Duczmal	....	score mixer
Falko Duczmal	....	score recordist
Dave Foster	....	music preparation
Mok-hyun Gibson-Lane	....	musician: cello
Stefan Heinemeyer	....	musician: cello
Sebastian Krunnies	....	musician: cello
Elissa Lee	....	musician: violin
Max Richter	....	musician: cello
Max Richter	....	score mixer
Mathias Schneider-Hollek	....	score supervisor (as Mathias Schneider)

Transportation Department
Martin Blytheway	....	driver: action vehicle
Charlie Brennan	....	driver: action vehicle
Jas Brown	....	driver: Mr. McGregor
Stephen Dorrans	....	driver: minibus, second unit
Andrew Duncan	....	driver: minibus
Ian Dunn	....	driver: faciities
Steve Fisher	....	driver: facilities
Eduardo Gómez Velázquez	....	driver: Mexico
Peter 'Tank' Hancox	....	facilities manager
Stephen Harrop	....	unit driver (as Stephen 'Happy' Harrop)
Robert Hastings	....	driver: minibus, second unit
Aldo Hinojo Nava	....	driver: Mexico
David Inns	....	driver: van
J.J. Lowe	....	driver: camera truck
David Macleod	....	driver: props (as David MacLeod)
Bill McKeller	....	driver: facilities (as Bill McKellar)
Garry McLeod	....	driver: A Frame
Jack Morran	....	driver: action vehicle
Grant Morrison	....	driver: action vehicle
Ronnie Morrison	....	action vehicle coordinator
Colin Stephenson	....	driver: facilities
Charles Stewart	....	driver: Ms. Green
Brian Williamson	....	driver: action vehicle
Wayne Wright	....	unit driver

Other crew
Celia Aiken	....	science advisor (as Dr. Celia Aiken)
Jim Anderson	....	researcher
Reno Antoniades	....	legal services: Sigma Films, Lee & Thompson
Natalie Bass	....	legal services: Sigma Films, Lee & Thompson (as Natalie Usher)
Mary Brehony	....	legal affairs: Scottish Screen
James Buckler	....	production & delivery coordinator: BBC Films
Mark Byrne	....	business and legal affairs: ord Scannián na hÉtreann/Irish Film Board
Neil Calder	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Sofia Castañ&n Ornelas	....	production: Mexico
Jim Clubb	....	animal wrangler
Perry Costello	....	armorer
Guy Cowan	....	chef advisor
Miglet Crichton	....	location manager: second unit
Paul Cross	....	animal wrangler
Owen Derby	....	titles
Audrius Dirmauskas	....	assistant chef advisor
Brendan Diver	....	catering chef
Laura Donnelly	....	crowd coordinator
Anna Duffield	....	production: Sigma Films
Anne Forster	....	bookkeeping: Sigma Filma
Rosalba Garza Treviño	....	production: Mexico
Jeremy Gawade	....	legal services: Sigma Films, Lee & Thompson
Carl Geeson	....	bicycle mechanic
Donal Geraghty	....	production accountant
Simon Gillis	....	legal and business affairs manager: BBC Films
Lindsay Goodall	....	assistant production coordinator
Chris Hall	....	production runner
James Hickey	....	legal representative: Subotica Limited
Michael Higson	....	location scout
Ruth Hodgson	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Johanna Hogan	....	legal representative: Subotica Limited
Amy Jackson	....	assistant: David Mackenzie
David Johnstone	....	insurance: Media Insurance
Tiernan Kelly	....	operations: Film City Glasgow
Claire L. Kenny	....	assistant accountant (as Claire Kenny)
Dedan Kimanthi	....	unit crew: Kenya
Constantne Kirezi	....	unit crew: Kenya
Anders Kjærhauge	....	legal: Zentrope
Katarina Krave	....	business and legal affairs: Film 1 Väst
Ashifa Lalani	....	assistant accountant
Kasper Leick	....	commissioning editor: Danish Film Institute
Tom Lewis	....	chef advisor
Steven Little	....	archive producer
Elizabeth MacFarlane	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Joni Mackay	....	runner
Joni Mackay	....	stand-in
Donald MacKinnon	....	location manager
Morven MacPherson	....	location runner
Virginia Maillo	....	floor runner
Layla Mall	....	production coordinator
Carole McAllister	....	unit doctor (as Dr. Carole McAllister)
Linda McClure	....	business affairs: Scottish Screen
Ashling McGrath	....	production executive: Subotica Limited
Kenny McGuire	....	computer standby
Joyce Miller	....	animal wrangler
Terry Miller	....	animal wrangler
Methu Muthoni	....	unit crew: Kenya
Stephen Nex	....	development: Sigma Films
Aoife O'Sullivan	....	production executive: Subotica Limited
John O'Sullivan	....	insurance: media Insurance
Linda Pather	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Alex Perry	....	animal wrangler
Simon Perry	....	chief executive: Bord Scannián na hÉtreann/Irish Film Board
Rebecca Pick	....	legal services: Sigma Films, Lee & Thompson
Justin Purefoy	....	unit crew: Kenya
Rob Quigley	....	production accountant
Morven Reid	....	production runner
Rachael Reitman	....	assistant food stylist
Abdias 'Mateo' Solano Gonzáles	....	production: Mexico
Ross Stewart	....	production trainee
Stef Swiatek	....	unit nurse (as Stefania Swiatek)
Beverley Syme	....	assistant location manager
Mhairi Taylor	....	caterer
Katherine Tidy	....	food stylist
Claire Urquhart	....	operations: Film City Glasgow
Euan Williamson	....	runner
Euan Williamson	....	stand-in
Michael Wood	....	production executive: BBC Films
debra Bruce-Nazarian	....	drama coach (uncredited)
Roisin Carty	....	dialogue coach: Eva Green (uncredited)
Matt Cooper	....	floor runner (uncredited)
Glynn Henderson	....	safety consultant (uncredited)

Thanks
Douglas Graham	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• BBC Films (presents)
• Zentropa Entertainments (as Zentropa Entertainments5) (in association with)
• Scottish Screen (in association with)
• Det Danske Filminstitut (as The Danish Film Institute) (with the participation of)
• Film i Väst (with the participation of)
• Bord Scannan na hEireann / Irish Film Board (with the participation of)
• Sigma Films
• Subotica Entertainment

Distributors

• ABC Distribution (2012) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• Presidio (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Senator Filmverleih (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Wild Bunch Benelux (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Arrow Films (2011) (UK) (all media)
• Canibal Networks (2012) (Mexico) (all media)
• EDKO Film (2012) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Falcon Films (2012) (Lebanon) (all media) (Middle East)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Madman Entertainment (2012) (Australia) (DVD)
• Seven Films (2011) (Greece) (all media)
• StudioCanal (2012) (France) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Filmgate (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Fatts  post production script services
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Freeway  collection agent
• Lee & Thompson  legal services: Sigma Films
• Matheson Ornsby Prentice  legal representatives: Subotica Limited
• Media Insurance Brokers  insurance (as Media Insurance)
• Serious Facilities  offline post production
• Studio Line  post-production sound services (ADR)
• Take 2 Film Services  camera equipment provided by
• Windmill Lane Pictures  post-production services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexuality/nudity

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK | Sweden | Denmark | Ireland

Language:

English | Sign Languages

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Japan:R15+ | South Korea:15 | Germany:12 | USA:R | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

Denis Lawson (Boss) is the uncle of Ewan McGregor (Michael) in real life.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Stephen is talking to Susan and the Virologist near the beginning of the film, a doctor can be seen running down the stairs behind him towards the floor below. The camera cuts away and then back to Stephen, showing the doctor running back down the stairs again, then after a second cut back, he vanishes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Susan:[narrating] There was darkness. There is light. There are men and women. There's food. There are restaurants. Disease. There's work. Traffic. The days as we know them, the world as we imagine the world.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Great Movie Mistakes IV (2012) (TV)

Richer Fabric

When I read the synopsis for _Perfect Sense_, I was expecting an apocalyptic romance. I was wrong. Such a description is too neat. This is more than escapist entertainment. It is an experience to be savored.

Its story is deceptively simple. It weaves a richer fabric than any casual touch will detect. Those who think its central device capricious (the disease and its development) give themselves too much credit for discerning the logic of their own lives. An illness may seem to follow no obvious or satisfying plot, but who can say whether any "misfortune" fails to follow a narrative too subtle for the prejudice of those who feel injured by it? Those who require every story to have a tidy, forensic resolution, with an indictable perpetrator for every ordeal, on whom they can unleash their outrage in order to achieve "closure," are the victims of their own narrow interpretation. Most pain is not conspiracy. The shared affliction of this story is poetic metaphor; however, like most good art, this film is about its characters, not its literary devices.

The cast's performances are not only authentic, they are illuminating; particularly Ewan McGregor's and Eva Green's central couple. Were they mere victims, their story would be hopeless tragedy. Instead, theirs is the account of an ordinary and vulnerable man and woman with extraordinary resilience, who attack, then embrace each other, stumbling over their circumstances as they learn to transcend them.

**A Brief Response to ArizWldcat's One-star Review**

If those at the premiere who asked questions after the screening (during the Q&A) are a representative sample of the audience, few of Mr. Mackenzie's viewers got the "point" of his film. One person asked the director what message or meaning he hoped we, his audience, would take from his film. He looked nonplussed at this question. He responded that the viewer had to answer that for himself.

It seems that Mr./Ms. ArizWldcat was one of those who expected this film to be easily categorized and to reaffirm a specific, pre-determined view of the world, such as a feel-good romance or a psychological thriller. The guy gets the girl and they save the world in the process, all portrayed through a predictably formulaic sequence of events. Everyone lives happily ever after. By those prerequisites, we would also be forced to give _Hamlet_ or _Citizen Kane_ one out of ten stars.

_Perfect Sense_ is a film whose "point" is not to make its audience comfortable or to provide the adrenaline buzz of a "thriller." Its purpose is to portray authentic human experience in an impossible situation. It did so admirably. It is one of the most hopeful films I have ever seen.