Customer Reviews

Scent of a Woman

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Of all the movies that I have seen that has moved me, Scent of a Woman was the one that did it. A highly emotional movie which starred Academy Award Winning Actor, Al Pacino who portrayed Ret. Lt. Col. Frank Slade, and Chris O'Donnell as the young fresh faced student of the prestigious Baird School, Charlie Simms.

Charlie(O' Donnell) takes a job caring for Slade(Pacino), a washed-up, decorated military man who clings to his Jack Daniels, so he can earn enough money to go home for the Christmas Holidays. Along the way, Slade takes the young man through different turns during the Thanksgiving Day weekend in New York City not knowing what the boy will expect. While the unpredictable occurs, Charlie contemplates his fate with his school honor--a conflict of interest with who is your real friends and who are not.

The entire movie wraps around relationships and how strangers can make a difference in a little over 2 hours and 37 minutes. For one weekend, Charlie and Slade discover that they need each other more than they thought, with different circumstances. You'd have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about, especially the finale.

The director, Martin Brest(Beverly Hills Cop and Meet Joe Black), has the knack of bringing out the best in the characters even in unpleasant situations. The soft sides always show in those who don't appear to have it.

If this film had a theme it would be, living is worth living.

When I first heard of this movie, I had no clue what it was about. My friend and I saw a teaser poster with Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar dancing the tango labeled "Scent of a Woman". Putting two and two together, we went into the theater thinking we were watching a love story until the movie started. Whoops. Despite my misgivings in the beginning, I was pleasantly surprised. What I found was a riveting story of mentor-mentee relationship. I love movies that involve the master taking young grasshopper under his wing. Except master is not Mr. Perfect himself. Both the student and the teacher learn from each other's weaknesses. And despite Lt Col Slade's struggle with his misfortunate blinding accident, his Army core values were still in tact. Hard-working and willing to give up a Thanksgiving weekend to look after an embittered retiree, Slade sees an underlying goodness in Chris O'Donnell's fragile, fence-sitting character, Charlie. Like most young men his age, he was susceptible to peer pressure and could easily choose the wrong path as his friends had. Slade is blind but easily sees the temptation to compromise the boy's integrity and future. "This old bat has sharper radar than the Nautilus" Slade tells his young league. He lays all the cards out for Charlie to see, but knew instinctively it was up to the boy to make his own decision. Charlie eventually shows his true colors in the face of adversity. Like a good soldier, he never leaves his commander's side even when the danger is self-inflicting. Character like that is a rarity in anyone and must be preserved! This prompts Slade to reciprocate his support for Charlie who is enrolled in a prestigious school reknowned for producing some of the most important figure heads in America. "Be careful what type of leaders you're making," he warns the school staff. Charlie learns lessons in life that no school could teach him.

Underneath the tough exterior, there was a softer side to Slade. He definitely had a thing for the ladies. Instead of playing up a macho cassanova, "Mac-Daddy" persona predominate in a lot of films today, Slade is quite the charmer and gentlemen. He's cultured, sophisticated, genteel and surprisingly knowledgeable about women's perfume. Hence the film's title. I find that warrior-poet quality incredibly sexy and appealing. You can't resist a man who makes the tango look so easy and doesn't mind getting "all tangled up" with you. A beautiful role played by Pacino earning him a well-deserved oscar which probably was most credited for by his empowering monologue in the end. This is by far his best role in a movie.

Lovely film. Sweet, sad, romantic yet uplifting. This is truly a classic for the ages.

Little is said about the tango scene, thus far. That allows me the pleasure of being the first to talk about the interesting things that are going on there.

Frank, an ardent admirer of the beauty of women, and an afficionado of the Tango, finds himself with an opportunity for a special moment, a situation, in which he proceeds to charm a sweet flower of a young woman, so well embodied in Donna, with his manner and his words. Tango music is swaying in the background, compellingly played by The Tango Project.

Frank asks Donna if she can Tango; she had wanted to learn, but her Michael didn't. Frank offers her a lesson, then and there. She hesitates, blushes, smiles, and finally submits to his " seduction." They escort each other to the dance floor. Aware of Frank's blindness, Donna instinctively holds him closer.

"Por un Cabeza" begins. Frank leads her, gently and masterfully, through the beautiful ritual of the Tango. She seems to move as one with him. Effective camera work reveals Frank's dramatic and romantic execution of the Tango, and Donna's pleasure and surprise at her ability to follow him, effortlessly, through this colorful dance that she has long wished to do.

They leave the dance floor. One gets the sense that what transpired was more than simply a dance lesson. They were both deeply fulfilled by the experience; Frank, by being with a beautiful woman, doing his beloved Tango, and Donna, by finally doing a Tango with a charming man.

I would add that Donna was not mildly smitten by Frank, as betrayed by her glances toward him during the brief conversation that followed, and as she was being led away by Michael, who had joined them. She was obviously not very willing to say goodbye. A small tragedy is perceived in the fact that Frank could not see and reap the reward of the attraction of a beautiful woman; there is no doubt that he sensed it, but he would have been very pleased to see it.

There has already been 33 reviews written of this movie. What more do I hope to (or can I possibly)add? Well, I don't know, but here goes my two cents...

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Al Pacino at one of his very best moments. Playing a role unlike any other of his career. Chris O'Donnell at a perfect stage--before he his head became too big to fit through doorways (as the result of such travesties as Batman or The Bachelor).

This is a very moving movie. One that never fails to endear itself further to me. I've seen it more times than I care to remember, but just yesterday, happened to catch it again on TNT. The channel surfing stopped there, and I watched what (little) remained.

I wager you will love this movie as well. One can't help but love it as they watch an aging, blind Pacino come from despair to....well, I won't give away too much for those of you who haven't seen it.

But, a few scenes to look for that are, by themselves, worthy of the price of this beauty: (a) the tango; (b) the test-drive; and (c) the speech. Hopefully that is cryptic and vague enough to not give anything away. However, those in the know, know very well what I speak/write of.

Get it. Enjoy it a million times over.

I have probably watched "Scent of A Woman" thirty times. I find it one of those movies that becomes hypnotic a few minutes into it. Al Pacino is absolutely outstanding in the role of Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, retired from the U.S. Army. Slade, blinded by a drinking/grenade game he was playing with one of his drinking buddies, is now living as an embittered alcoholic with an adult niece, her husband and two little children. He is an arrogant, angry man used to issuing orders and not displaying very much gratitude or affection.

Charlie Simms, played well by Chris O'Donnell, is a scholarship at a nearby prep school in the same town in New Hampshire where Slade lives. Charlie's trying to earn some money over the Thanksgiving weekend so that he can travel home to his parents in Oregon at the Christmas break.He discovers an ad placed by Slade's niece to care for her blind uncle over the Thanksgiving break so that she can travel with her husband and kids to Albany, New York for Thanksgiving with her in-laws.Charlie answers the ad and the adventure quickly develops.

Slade has his own plans for Thanksgiving. A last big blowout in New York City before killing himself.

He is abusive to Charlie at first and acts as if he is one of his military aides. He doesn't let him in on his plans until it's practically time to leave for New York -- while Charlie had been told by Slade's niece that the weekend would be at her home looking after her uncle.

A beautiful bonding begins as Slade and Simms interact and except for his anger and bitterness, it is obvious that Slade is not particularly handicapped by his blindness as he has developed an extra few "senses" which make him seem remarkable.

The journey to New York is a roller coaster of emotion from comic to touching to almost tragic. When Slade finally decides to kill himself, Charlie manages to save the day -- although it's pretty touch and go keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Charlie has problems of his own. He's not particularly self confident and Slade is tremendously intimidating. Charlie's other problems center around an incident at school which places him at a crossroads -- whether he should rat on some kids at school at the headmaster's own brand of intimidation, or face expulsion.

The movie concludes with an impassioned speech by Colonel Slade on Charlie' behalf before a school-wide assembly being held for a disciplinary committee hearing on the incident Charlie has knowledge of.

Simms remains true to himself and proves himself to show new confidence and an outstanding sense of personal integrity.

Slade has also benefited by his own plans gone awry and his opening a window of care for Charlie as another human being. He emerges as a sign of hope to overcome his bitterness, anger and alcoholism.

An absolutely remarkable film!!!

This was always one of my favorite movies and was glad to see it finally come out on HD-DVD. The transfer was great, providing crisp clear visuals. Soundtrack transfer is ver good as well.

Al Pacino (Scarface) won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1992 when he starred in Scent Of A Woman, a movie directed by Martin Brest (Beverly Hills Cop) and co-starring Chris O'Donnell (Batman Forever).

Pacino plays Lt. Colonel Frank Slade, a blind and retired military officer who spends thanksgiving weekend with his caretaker, a young and poor Oregon man named Charlie, played incredibly by O'Donnell, in New York City.

Charlie goes to a rich boy's school, Baird, where he is held as a witness to a disciplinary issue revolving around an incident that humiliated the headmaster, who threatens expulsion for Charlie if he doesn't tell the board who the perpetrators were. On the other hand, the other witness is a rich man's kid, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), who eventually gets an easier treatment. Charlie decides to work over the thanksgiving vacation as a caretaker for Slade, whose family leave him to go out of town.

Pacino's performance as Slade strikes gold. He's vicious and moody for a blind man, one who refuses to be held at the arm when walking, but he's also lonely, miserable and in need of a good time. Charlie accompanies Slade against his will to New York City where Slade has set an agenda that includes dining in a fancy restaurant, attending thanksgiving dinner at his estranged brother's house, dancing the tango with a beautiful woman, played by Gabrielle Anwar, driving a Ferrarri, getting laid, and finally blowing his brains out.

What makes the movie engaging is the bond that we see gradually occuring between our grumpy old man and the sweet and sensitive young man, and how Slade stands up to the lonesome poor boy with a lot of integrity in the climactic disciplinary hearing scene.

Scent Of A Woman is one of the best and most unforgettable motion pictures of the past 15 years.

Recommended

A

Ok...think AL Pacino at his best. Multiply it by like 10,000 and you have his acting performance. The scene where he tries to commit suicide still gives me goosebumps.

Add to that, great supporting acting, a fantastic script which is quite funny at times and very moving also and you have yourself a superb film.

Go get it.

Look, Al Pacino is over the top and chews up every scene like a doberman with my slippers, but it doesn't matter. SCENT OF A WOMAN is a grand vehicle for Pacino's antics; the story has meat on its bones, and the ending will leave you pumping your fist.

As Army Lt. Col. (retired) Frank Slade, Pacino plays one ticked off hombre. Mad at the world (due to being completely blind), Col. Slade is ready to call it quits. . .but first, he wants one last fling--over Thanksgiving Weekend, of all weekends--in the Big Apple. Yet he needs a pair of eyes: He finds them in young, peach-fuzzed Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell), an earnest student attending a New England prep school in the business of preparing its young skulls full of mush for entrance to Harvard. Charlie has a few problems of his own, the biggest one being he's on the hot seat because he knows who the culprits of a mean-spirited prank are--but he's not wheeling to squeal on his classmates.

So the Colonel and his young companion have spellbinding adventures in New York, culminating in a dramatic confrontation as Charlie tries to thwart the Colonel's date with a .45. Meanwhile, there is a camaraderie--a rapport--that develops between the two characters; Charlie's naivete, his gleaming innocence, affects the curmudgeonly Colonel. It overpowers, even changes him. . .so much so that Slade comes to Charlie's aid at his school's disciplinary hearing, where the retired Colonel gives a rousing speech, and subsequent dressdown, to the institution's snobbish dean (James Rebhorn). The entire scene is one hundred and fifty percent riveting.

Heck, SCENT OF A WOMAN in its totality is riveting--despite Pacino's constant rants and pity parties, which grow tiresome. On the other hand, his portrayal of a blind man is utterly and completely convincing. You'll also notice a very young Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays a preppie classmate of Charlie's. Hoffman went on to say this role launched his career; and SCENT OF A WOMAN ain't a bad way to do that.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning

Now and then it is refreshing to turn back time and elect to watch older films of substance, a reminder that there are certain cinematic characters that have become indelible. SCENT OF A WOMAN provided Al Pacino a stage on which to perform a true character, unlike any he had played before, and make it one of those creations that still, 15 years later, evoke a smile and applause.

Blind, acerbic, loudmouthed, irascible Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Pacino) hires preppy, in need of money, Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell) to escort him to New York for a 'final fling'. Charlie has his own issues that depress him, but the two end up having such a grand time in New York that they bond strongly - until Slade dresses for his final moment. The tearful Charlie convinces Slade not to off himself, Charlie's innate character wins Slade's gruff heart, and Slade ends up defending Charlie in an inforgettable prep school 'mock trial'.

The complete manner in which Pacino inhabits this role is a stroke of studied genius: as a blind man his every physical and verbal movements are wholly convincing. There are many fine moments in this film, not the least of which is the famous Tango scene, or the confrontation between Charlie and Slade regarding a suicide plan. Pacino won Best Actor for his role and it is richly deserved. This is a film to cherish. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, February 06