Scent of a Woman (1992)

Director: Martin Brest

Screenplay: Bo Goldman (remake of the 1974 Italian film Profumo di Donna)

Cast: Al Pacino, Chris O’ Donnell

Music: Thomas Newman

Time: 156 minutes

Bottom-line: Irritably slow-paced at times, but it’s Pacino’s performance that grabs all your attention

Al Pacino’s first and only Oscar win is for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Slade, in this 1992 drama film, Scent of a Woman. Co-starring Chris O’ Donnell, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and James Rebhorn, the film is the tale of the relationship between a blind man and a high-school student who has volunteered to take care of him during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Charlie Simms (O’ Donnell) is a student of Baird School, an exclusive prep school. To pay for his flight home for Christmas, he accepts a temporary job during the Thanksgiving weekend: to look after retired Army Ranger Lt. Colonel Frank Slade (Pacino), a blind, irritable, irascible alcoholic. Meanwhile, Charlie and George (Hoffman), another student, witness three students set up a prank that later humiliates the Headmaster, Mr. Trask (Rebhorn). Trask offers Charlie a bribe for his confession, but blackmails him if he remains silent, and asks him to think about it. Slade unexpectedly books a trip for himself and Charlie to New York, where Charlie notices, and becomes part of, Slade’s opulent lifestyle. Slade tells Charlie that he plans on committing suicide by the end of the trip. As the story goes on, Slade turns out to be a far different person than the cantankerous man we thought he was.

When it comes to “suspense”, there are two types: the first one is when you are waiting at the edge of your seat, eager as ever to know what will happen, predicting every scenario in your head. The second type is the “Get to the interesting part already!” type, where the build-up is egregiously bad, with poor dialogue and no thrill at all. Several incidents from Scent of a Woman are of the second category. With 156 minutes of screen time, the film runs at least 30 to 45 minutes more than required. The last 30-40 minutes of the film are also annoyingly slow-paced, with Slade’s speech in the climax being the sole high point – but what a terrific speech it is!

Pacino as Lt. Colonel Slade (left) and O' Donnell as Charlie

The scenes of the film that are good, are the ones where Slade drives a Ferrari on his own, the one where he does tango with a beautiful woman, the tense encounter between Slade and Charlie in the hotel room, and the climax. The transformation of Slade’s character is the highlight of the film. when his niece first describes him as “Deep down, the man is a lump of sugar”, you think of him as anything but. With his quirks, short-temper, sarcasm and downright disparaging comments, he comes on to you as a crazy old man. Slowly, however, his true nature comes out. Well-versed in an enormous range of topics, sensitive, caring, and fearless, he becomes more likeable by the minute – Charlie realises it, and so do we.

Pacino has given better performances compared to this one, but this is the only one where he received the much-deserved long-overdue Academy Award. As I said, the way he plays the irritable grouch in the start to a “lovable” old man in the end, the film shows his versatile talents. That final speech will certainly give you goosebumps ("If I was the man I was five years ago, I would take a FLAMETHROWER to this place!") He is aptly supported by Chris O’ Donnell, the guy who help his nerve against the cranky soldier, and in return, received a friend and experience of a lifetime.

With a gem of a performance by Al Pacino leading the way, Scent of a Woman is a warm and dramatic tale of how you can make the most of what life gives you. Yes, the storyline could have been vastly improved, the pace is slow and there are several places you might want to fast-forward without a second thought, but the experience at the end, is wonderful.

My Rating: 3/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%