Scent Of A Woman

Scent Of A Woman is a very beautiful and touching film with a great performance by Al Pacino as the blind Colonel Frank Slade. Directed by the same man who would later on both direct and write the major flop Gigli and who also directed Meet Joe Black, a mediocre film that was a bit too long, Scent Of A Woman doesn't show any of those bad qualities director Martin Brest came to show in his later work. A remake of the Italian Profumo Di Donna and adapted from the novel by Giovanni Arpino, Scent Of A Woman feels to be standing very much on its own and doesn't feel as a remake at all. Without having seen the original I can not judge which one is better, but Scent Of A Woman is definitely a very great film and a great accomplishment. The film feels very warm. It's a drama with comedic elements. Frank its main protagonist is a wonderfully written character, who will make you laugh and some might even cry. A very strong scene in Frank's New York hotel room, shows how gifted Pacino really is. Without being really able to use his eyes, because his character is blind, he still shows so much expression through his voice and body. Pacino is a true delight. This film is all about him, even though Chris O'Donnell gives a very nice and subtle performance as well. He surprised me the most. Being an actor who after this film came to make films that overall have been far from good, he's one of those actors you heard about, but of whom you never knew why he's so well known and what got him that fame in the first place. This film therefore changed my whole perspective of O'Donnell whom I thought to be holding his own very well next to the master that is Pacino. Convincing as a 17 year old he really showed his character's unexperiencedness. Charlie is still very green, has much to learn and isn't yet able to make important decisions all by himself. O'Donnell really showed his character had still much to learn and I liked to see him be really fascinated and surprised by Frank. His emotions seemed very sincere and touching. Gabrielle Anwar who had a very small role has a very striking beauty and elegance. At first I thought her to be actress Sarah Polley. The two look quite similar. The tango scene between Pacino and Anwar was a very nice touch, which really fitted the story well and showed how rich a character Frank is. It really showed his life experience and the different sides there are to him. Philip Seymour Hoffman was nice as well as George Willis, although he too had a very small role. Hoffman always delivers a nice performance nomatter the size of his role. He is a real character actor, who's acting always catches your attention.

What is it about?

Charlie Simms, a 17 year old college student, instead of celebrating Thanksgiving with his family, takes on a job which eventually leads him to New York. Having to take care of a blind man who used to be in the army, he finds himself in a tough position. Colonel Frank Slade who he has to take care for is unexpected in character and quite a big mouth. Meanwhile Charlie has gotten himself in trouble when some boys he knows pull a prank on the school's headmaster, Mr. Trask. Having seen exactly who did it together with George Willis a fellow student, they both keep their mouth shut. However, when Mr. Trask tells Charlie he has chosen him to help get to Harvard, he finds it harder to not turn the boys in. Still he doesn't say a word and when he gets back to take care of Frank, he unexpectedly takes him on a trip to New York. At first Frank's plan seems to be a very casual made decision, he seems to just want to have a little fun. But as the movie progresses it turns out his plan is very well thought out and he came to New York for a particular reason.

Final Verdict: *****

Scent Of A Woman is a beautiful film and definitely could be considered a modern classic. It features one of Pacino's best performances and tells the very touching story between an elder guy with much life experience and a 17 year old who has still very much to learn and isn't quite ready to face the world. The film reminded me a bit of Finding Forrester (US: Van Sant, 2000), a film which stars Sean Connery, and is about an author who comes to take notice of the writing talents of a student playing basketball close to his house and whom he later takes under his wing. Besides the great story of Scent Of A Woman, undoubtedly the best thing in this film is Al Pacino. From the very first moment you hear his voice, which is the first thing we as viewers get to 'see' of him, until the very end, his performance is strong and impressive. In one of the final scenes, Pacino gives a great speech that will really move you, is very sincere and true. Before that he already showed great range during an argument with Charlie who tries to prevent him from doing something stupid. He is great in showing both the joy in his character as well as the anger, for he has to always live in the dark. Frank thinks of himself to be a very important guy, a real hotshot. His 'poowah!' shoutouts are great. Pacino is both heartwarming as funny. He gets to show everything he's made of. He is such a wonderful actor and his performance in this film is very powerful. Altogether, Scent Of A Woman is a very entertaining film and truly makes you forget it has a runtime of what at first glance seem to be a very long 157 minutes. It's a nice high quality solid drama with comedy elements, that can be enjoyed with the whole family and features a performance by Pacino that can not be missed.