Review of Scent of a Woman (1992) by Briain D — 06 Jun 2011

This is one of my favourite films and there is no doubt that Al Pacino deserved his Oscar for it.

The story is quite simple but definitely original and unique. Pacino plays a very convincing blind retired army lieutenant-colonel in a town somewhere near Boston. A cash-strapped teenager (O'Donnell) from a local private school arrives for a Thanksgiving weekend job of looking after Col. Slade. However, the "simple $300" he was promised proves to be far from it as Slade takes him on a luxurious trip to New York City. There, a beautiful storyline about the human condition and the importance of a solid friendship develops, with Slade's amazing talent at recognising women's perfumes playing an important part in the story. ("I'm in the amazing business"). During the trip, despite Slade's plan to commit suicide, he experiences a huge amount of life's pleasures- he stays at the Waldorf Astoria, dances a tango and drives a Ferrari at massive speeds around New York!

In an exciting climax, Slade comes close to killing both himself and Charlie but the latter convinces him of his qualities as a person and they head back to Massachussets together. In a superb finish, Slade defends Charlie, who is in trouble about an incident in school, at the "closest thing [Baird] can manage to [a court of law]".

The acting in the film is sublime and brings the story to a whole new level. Pacino is utterly convincing as the blind colonel, while O'Donnell does a brilliant job as well. Philip Seymour Hoffman, in his slightly more minor role, also plays his part well.

The only minor flaw is that the film is maybe a half an hour too long but this doesn't take away from what is a masterpiece of a film. I recommend everybody to see it at some stage in their lives!