The Perfume Of The Lady In Black

The Perfume of the Lady in Black (Il Profumo Della Signora In Nero)(1974)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Francesco Barilli

Starring: Mimsy Farmer, Maurizio Bonuglia, Mario Scaccia, Jho Jhenkins, Nike Arrighi

From: Euro International Films

Just barely a giallo, but that is OK. Technically the idea of a giallo is a loose one and does not always require something like spooky witches or a black gloved killer to be one. This is more a psychological thriller where lead Mimsy Farmer starts hallucinating/seeing visions and she does not know what is real or what is just in her head. Some things are definitely just fabrications, such as her deceased mother, who actually is in back and actually does have perfume at one point. There's also hints of a conspiracy going on concerning various people she's connected with, whether it be friends or people who work at her apartment.

This will be a briefer than usual review; that's no slight against the film. It's just a case where I don't want to give much away, especially an ending I heard was shocking (that came from a Letterboxd mutual; said ending wasn't what I was expecting). There's nice music, an increasing disorientating feeling and a quality lead performance from the only name in the cast I recognized-Mimsy Farmer. While this isn't as great as Perfect Blue, those that like such a thing... also note that this has a blind supporting character, which seemed like a requirement for most Italian genre fare of the time. It's as ubiquitous as a bottle of J&B in the same world, which of course does also appear here.