Scent Of A Woman

Al Pacino finally picked up the Best Actor Oscar for his performance here as Lt. Frank Slade, a blind man who takes a Thanksgiving trip to New York City taking along a naive young man (Chris O’Donnell) who is going through some drama at school. Over this weekend trip Slade tries to relive some pleasures of life while teaching his friend a few life lessons. SCENT OF A WOMAN often gets singled out for the great performances but I think the film itself has been sadly overlooked throughout the years. Yes, there’s no question that the film plays for emotions and there’s no doubt that at times it’s quite manipulative but at the same time it’s about as entertaining as any film can get and it also features some of the most memorable scenes and characters of the decade. There’s no doubt that Pacino deserves a lot of credit because the performance is flawless and ranks right up there with some of the greatest of his career and that’s saying quite a bit. I can’t think of a better performance of someone playing a blind man and even better is the way Pacino can give off emotions without saying a word. Just take a look at the Thanksgiving dinner sequence where we get a wide range of emotions and Pacino has to give them without saying much. The final speech from Pacino is one of the best in the history of cinema and the pure fire and energy given off by the actor is breathtaking. O’Donnell also deserves a lot of credit because he plays the part perfectly and really stands well against Pacino. Gabrielle Anwar is terrific in her brief scene and Philip Seymour Hoffman, even at this early stage of his career, shows how great he is. The music score is another major plus here as it’s impossible to forget once you hear it. The movie clocks in at 157-minutes but it’s the shortest “long” movie I’ve ever seen. The story itself contains so much personal drama that you can’t help but get sucked in but the movie also works for many laughs as well. SCENT OF A WOMAN often gets overlooked when people discuss the great movies of the 90s but it’s certainly deserving of a mention and then you have a legendary actor turning in a brilliant performance.